>Info with the new wysong freeze-dried meat food (Archetypal 1) says
>"cooking destroys nutrients".  If this is true, are we wasting our
>time making Chicken Gravy for healthy ferrets who are eating kibble?
 
Yes, it does!
 
But, depending on the type, heat, and length of cooking, it destroys
varying amounts of different nutrients, most in percentages too small
to worry about.  Cooking also *releases* nutrients in some foods -
especially some vegetables - that we could not digest otherwise.
 
You know that yummy crust on a juicy seared steak?  Destroyed proteins.
Those delicious caramel treats?  Destroyed sugar.  That jiggly Jello?
Destroyed bones and connective tissues.  (really!)  And so on and so on.
 
Cooking causes chemical changes in foods; some things are broken down,
other things are created.  If significant amounts of nutrients were
destroyed by cooking though, we wouldn't still be around today.  Now
ferrets are a bit different, having evolved to eat raw diets, but it's
safe to say that home cooking won't alter a chicken enough to deprive
them of its nutritional benefits - or to create compounds harmful to
them.  By comparison, most kibbles are so highly processed and cooked
(or extruded) at such high temperatures that their nutrients ARE
significantly changed.  Not to mention that kibbles contain tons of
carbohydrates and other things that ferrets don't need.  That chicken
is far more beneficial to them than any kibble will ever be.
 
roger (cooking is chemistry!)
missing bear, lancelot and kodi
[Posted in FML issue 4426]