Vegetables are among the healthiest foods to eat and are known to help fight diseases. Many people boast the benefits of eating raw: getting the fresh nutrients of living food and the enzymes that help aid digestion. But while there are benefits to eating raw vegetables, there are also risks involved.
Contamination
Contaminated food may lead to foodborne illnesses. The soil in which vegetables grow can have bacteria that sticks to the vegetables when they are harvested. During preparation, storage or transport, vegetables may also come into contact with bacteria that can lead to illness and even death. Washing raw vegetables can get rid of any topical contamination, but how you store it also matters. Certain vegetables and precut or freshly cut vegetables should be refrigerated at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below, notes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Toxins
Certain vegetables contain natural toxins that are dangerous when consumed raw. Bamboo shoots have cyanide in the raw form but cooking the shoots makes them safe to eat. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, they should be boiled for at least 20 minutes to remove 70 percent of the cyanide, but cooking them longer can remove up to 96 percent.
Another vegetable, the fiddlehead, eaten raw can cause food poisoning with symptoms including nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea and headaches. Fiddleheads are the young coiled leaves that stem from the ostrich fern, according to Cooperative Extension Publications. Cooking for 10 to 15 minutes will eliminate this risk, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Raw carrots need to be stored away from any food that contains ethylene, which is a fruit ripening hormone, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Ethylene, which can clash with chemical compounds found in carrots to increase the risk of spoiling, is commonly found in fruits such as apples, peaches, bananas, pears, plums, cantaloupes, honeydew melons and tomatoes.
Digestion
Raw vegetables are not easily digestible and sometimes impossible to digest for those with digestive disorders. Vegetables have a mass of fiber, which is difficult for the digestive system to break down. Within this fiber, cellulose, is where the vitamins and minerals are housed. If the body is unable to break down the fiber, the nutrients are not absorbed into the body. Cooking vegetables helps to break down cellulose so the body can absorb more nutrients, according to Healing Naturally by Bee. Cooking food may release more antioxidants than eating foods raw.
Chronic Diseases
Oxalates are basically kidney stones. They can also form in any tissues of the body including the heart, thyroid, brain and skeletal muscle and have been found in bone as well. High amounts of oxalates have been connected with diseases such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, kidney stones and Zellweger syndrome, according to William Shaw in "The Role of Oxalates in Autism and Chronic Disorders". They have also been connected with neurotoxicity and peripheral neuropathy. Oxalates are found in foods, particularly soy protein and spinach. Other vegetables high in oxalates are okra, leeks, rhubarb and Swiss chard.
References
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Produce Safety; April 19, 2010
- The Western A. Price Foundation; The Role of Oxalates in Autism and Chronic Disorders: William Shaw;: March 26, 2010
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency; Natural Toxins in Fresh Fruit and Vegetables: July 2009
- Healing Naturally by Bee; How to Get the Most Nutrients from Vegetables (Raw or Cooked)?: 2011
- Cooperative Extension Publications; Facts on Fiddleheads: 2010
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