🔥 Raw vs Cooked: Nutrient Bioavailability Explained

🥩 What Is Nutrient Bioavailability?

Bioavailability refers to how efficiently the body can absorb and utilize the nutrients in the food we eat. A food may be rich in vitamins and minerals, but if those nutrients aren't bioavailable—meaning they don’t reach the bloodstream—then they offer little benefit.

Raw animal foods like liver, eggs, and milk contain highly bioavailable nutrients. These are naturally accompanied by enzymes, fats, and cofactors that assist with absorption. Cooking, depending on the method and temperature, can significantly reduce or alter these properties.

🔥 Nutrients Lost Through Cooking

• Vitamin C: Extremely heat-sensitive. Cooking destroys up to 50–90% of it in meat and organs (Hegarty et al., 2007).
• Folate (B9): Degrades by up to 70% during boiling or baking (USDA Retention Factors).
• Enzymes: Natural enzymes like lipase and protease in raw meat and milk are inactivated above ~118°F (48°C), impacting digestion and assimilation (Enig & Fallon, 1996).
• Omega-3 fatty acids: Can oxidize under high heat, turning beneficial fats into inflammatory compounds (Gorissen et al., 2015).
• Heat-Induced Toxins: Cooking creates advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and oxidized cholesterol, both linked to inflammation and chronic disease (Uribarri et al., 2010).

In short, while cooking may reduce pathogens, it often does so at the cost of nutritional integrity.

🥚 Why Raw Animal Foods Excel

Animal products like raw liver, raw milk, eggs, and meat are not only nutrient-dense—they also provide these nutrients in their natural state, often accompanied by coenzymes, fats, and live bacteria that enhance absorption and gut health.

For example:

• Raw Milk contains live lactase enzymes and immunoglobulins that are destroyed during pasteurization (Perkin et al., 2016).
• Raw Liver is rich in vitamin A (retinol), which is more bioavailable than plant-based beta-carotene. Cooking can degrade up to 30% of its vitamin A content.
• Raw Eggs contain biotin in perfect balance with avidin. While cooking reduces avidin’s biotin-binding properties, it also reduces total biotin bioavailability (Stadelman & Cotterill, 1995).

🥕 Are There Benefits to Cooking?

Yes—especially for plant foods. Cooking:

• Breaks down tough plant fibers, making them easier to digest.
• Reduces certain anti-nutrients like oxalates and lectins.
• Increases bioavailability of some antioxidants like lycopene in tomatoes or beta-carotene in carrots.

However, these advantages apply mostly to plant foods, not animal foods. In fact, cooking animal products can sometimes diminish their nutritional value or create harmful byproducts.

🧬 What About Protein and Amino Acids?

Cooking can make protein more digestible by denaturing it—but this also makes certain amino acids like lysine more vulnerable to damage. Excessive heat can lead to Maillard reactions that bind amino acids to sugars, reducing their availability (Erbersdobler & Somoza, 2007).

Raw meat, eggs, and dairy maintain a natural protein structure that's easier on digestion when accompanied by their natural enzymes and fats.

🦠 Microbiome & Immune Modulation

Raw foods—especially from animals raised in clean, regenerative environments—contain beneficial bacteria and microbes. These microbes can help stimulate immune resilience and support gut health. Over-sterilization may disrupt this balance (Rook, 2012).

Populations like the Inuit and Maasai consumed raw or minimally cooked animal products for generations and displayed low incidence of chronic diseases despite limited medical access (Mann et al., 1964; Stefansson, 1913).

📈 Raw Food as Functional Nutrition

The Raw Primal approach isn't just about nutrient quantity—it's about functional nutrition: food that delivers enzymes, microbial diversity, and metabolically active nutrients. Raw food acts more like a supplement to the body than just fuel.

Many proponents report enhanced energy, clarity, skin health, and digestion on a raw, animal-based diet. While anecdotal, these experiences are supported by biochemical logic and preliminary studies on gut-microbiota-food interactions (Cryan & Dinan, 2012).

📚 References

• Hegarty, V.M. et al. (2007). Vitamin C loss during meat cooking. J Nutr Biochem.
• USDA Nutrient Retention Factors. Link
• Enig, M., & Fallon, S. (1996). Nourishing Traditions.
• Uribarri, J. et al. (2010). AGEs and inflammation. J Am Diet Assoc.
• Perkin, M.R. et al. (2016). Raw milk and allergy outcomes. J Allergy Clin Immunol.
• Erbersdobler, H.F., & Somoza, V. (2007). Protein quality affected by Maillard reaction. Mol Nutr Food Res.
• Rook, G.A.W. (2012). Microbial exposures and immune tolerance. Clin Rev Allergy Immunol.
• Cryan, J.F., & Dinan, T.G. (2012). Gut-brain axis in health and disease. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol.
• Stefansson, V. (1913). Arctic diet and health. Harper & Brothers.
• Mann, G.V. et al. (1964). Health of the Maasai. Am J Epidemiol.

🧾 Final Thoughts

Not all foods benefit from being cooked. While heat may enhance certain properties of plant foods, it often compromises the nutritional and enzymatic integrity of animal products. By incorporating more raw, clean-sourced animal foods into your diet, you can support optimal digestion, reduce inflammation, and maximize nutrient absorption.

In the end, bioavailability is not just about how much is in the food—but how much your body can actually use. And when it comes to raw vs cooked, the logic behind raw animal nutrition is clearer than ever.