You must have seen many people claiming in many videos circulating on social media or often calling themselves doctors of some pathology, saying that the use of pressure cooker in the kitchen is causing harm. in pressure cooker rice and lentils Or cooking vegetables destroys their nutrients. Many times such arguments may have been given that food gets cooked quickly in a pressure cooker but the essential nutrients present in pulses and rice like proteins, vitamins etc. get broken down and destroyed, but have you ever thought whether these things are right or wrong? Is using pressure cooker really harmful to health? Is the old method of cooking food on the stove without covering the vessel the best? Let us know the answer..
Let us tell you that generally pulses, rice, porridge etc. are prepared in cooker every day in homes. In this, food gets cooked quickly due to steam. Nutrients like protein, vitamins, hemucellulose, starch, carbohydrate, roughage, fat, minerals and pentosan etc. are especially found in pulses. At the same time, starch is found in large quantities in rice. In such a situation, it is necessary to cook it before eating.
Scientifically, when pulses, rice, porridge etc. are cooked, the nutrients present in them come out and it becomes easier for humans to digest them. Also, these nutritional elements reach the body directly and provide the necessary nutritional value. However, it is very important to know whether to make them in a pressure cooker, in a pan or in an earthen pot.
Is pressure cooker beneficial or harmful?
According to the Dietary Guidelines 2024 recently released by ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, pulses, rice and cereals contain enzymes with some anti-nutritional factors which get broken down after cooking or boiling in pressure cooker. Besides, elements like phytic acid also decreases, due to which the ability to digest food and absorb minerals like zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium increases. Therefore pressure cooking is beneficial.
However, it is very important to keep two things in mind while cooking pulses, porridge or rice. Firstly, add limited amount of water in the cooker and secondly, do not overcook the pulses by whistling too many times. By doing this the quality of protein may decrease. Nutrients like lysine may be depleted.
At the same time, if you take out rice after cooking it in a pressure cooker, then B complex vitamins and vitamin C etc. are also lost from it. Minerals can also be destroyed. In such a situation, according to modern science, cooking food in a pressure cooker is beneficial.
What do naturopaths say about pressure cooking?
Dr. Raghavendra Rao, Director of Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, New Delhi, while talking to M News18 Hindi, says that there is no research in Naturopathy or Ayurveda regarding pressure cooking that it is bad. If someone makes such a claim by calling himself an expert in any pathology then it is wrong. Pressure cooking is a process in which food is cooked through steam. If you cook pulses, rice or grains in a pressure cooker, some of the hard enzymes, starch etc present in them get broken down, the breaking of which is necessary for digestion and for the release of nutrients. Pressure cooking brings out the nutrients present in pulses or grains like proteins, vitamins etc. and by eating such food one gets complete nutrition.
As far as the use of pressure cooker is concerned, there is no need to be confused. Cooking pulses, rice etc. in it is beneficial and you get the complete nutritional value.