Dr. Mercola June 20 2007 46,975 views
Like everyone else, I'm always learning new information. A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to Dr. Mercola's Optimal Wellness Center in the Chicago area. There, I met his top nutritionist, Jim Marlowe, and he gave me a tip for cooking that was actually quite a revelation to me.
As you know, the standard cooking temperature for most foods seems to have become around 350° F. But by cooking something at that temperature, you actually damage the molecular structure of the food.
Jim explained to me that a far better temperature for cooking, the maximum temperature to set the oven on, is 225° F. The boiling point for water is actually 212° F. So it doesn't take a scientist to figure out that by capping off your cooking temperature at 225° F, you're going to do far less damage to your food, and as a result, you'll cause yourself far less damage by eating foods cooked at a lower temperature.
Ideally, you'd want to be cooking your food in a slow cooker on the low setting, because that, again, will be using a low heat. But if you have to use the oven, then Jim recommends that the cap point, the top temperature you should use, is 225° F.
Bear in mind, this does affect the cooking time somewhat. At 225°F, you'll need to add approximately 50% over and above the original cooking time, in essence, 150% of the original cooking time in total.
EXAMPLE: If a food would normally cook at 350° F for 1 hour, it will need 1½ hours to cook at 225° F.
I'm definitely going to implement this principle from now on. As a result, I'm sure my family and I will see the benefits, and I hope you and yours will as well.
Contrarian,
You have not posted a single comment that is not a reply to someone else, and they all seem rather pessimistic. Why must you be such a nay-sayer? I am sure you have a great deal of advice/education to give, but must you do it in such a negative, destructive manner? Your messages seem hateful and egotistical… I am sure you believe strongly in the issues and studies you have written about, but that doesn’t make everyone else wrong. May all your days be sunny summer Sunday afternoons… lighten up!