I think this topic deserves its own thread. I recently read a lot about the studies that have been conducted on this. Here is one article that explains what happens to the white blood cell count after eating cooked food:
www.living-foods.com/article...uce.html
and that article is VERY long and has a LOT of raw food info so i am pasting the part of the article that specifically discusses Leukocytosis:
Pinpointing the Pathogenic Nature of Cooked Foods: Leukocytosis
An increase in white corpuscles in the bloodstream is indicative of pathology. White corpuscles are the body's first line of defense against toxic or harmful substances. The typical white corpuscle count is about 6,000 per cubic millimeter. When this count doubles, triples or increases four or five fold it is evidence of a diseased condition even if outward appearance does not reflect it.
Dr. Kouchakoff of Switzerland conducted over 300 detailed experiments, which pinpointed the pathogenic nature of cooked and processed foods. Food heated to temperatures of just 120 to 190 degrees F (a range usually relegated to warming rather than cooking which, nevertheless destroys all enzymes), causes leukocytosis. Leukocytosis is a term applied to an abnormally high white corpuscle count.
On Raw Food, Leukocytosis Does Not Occur
Within a short time after eating food cooked at these low temperatures, white corpuscle counts tripled in the participants of Dr. Kouchakoff experiments. When raw foods were added to the meal, foods cooked in this low temperature range did not cause leukocytosis. At cooked temperatures higher than 190 degrees, no amount of raw food offset the pathological effects of heating, and leukocytosis always occurred.
There is no proliferation of white corpuscles when uncooked, raw fresh produce food is eaten. On the contrary, the constant daily fight against the toxic effects of cooked food eventually exhausts the immune system, causing age-related illness and premature death.
White Blood Cells and the Immune System
A spontaneous multiplication of white corpuscles takes place in normal blood immediately after the introduction of any virulent infection or poison since white corpuscles are the fighting organisms of the blood. The human body contains hundreds of defensive mechanisms including leukocytes, lymphocytes, plasma cells, monocytes, basophils, neutrophils, eosinophils, and granulocytes to clear the circulation of toxic materials. These serve to protect and continuously purify the body against the ravages of poisons.
White blood cells patrol your circulatory system and defend against alien potentially harmful substances that have been absorbed or injected into the body. White cells are sanitation engineers maintaining the purity of tissues, lymph, and body fluids. If poisons, bacteria, fungi (yeast), metabolic wastes, cooked food debris, or other foreign substances enter the blood, they are engulfed by white blood cells. White cells tolerate nothing abnormal in the circulatory system. Some of what is apprehended is recycled as food, especially organic materials. High concentrations however, overwhelm your immune system.
When pharmaceutical or recreational drugs, medicinal herbs, nutritional supplements, inorganic nutrients and cooked foods are consumed, leukocytosis occurs. An abnormal proliferation of leukocytes are released into your bloodstream from lymph glands and bone marrow where they are normally held in reserve until needed, to apprehend harmful alien substances before they disrupt and chemically unite with a significant number of cells and tissues.
In the process, white cells go on a suicide mission sacrificing themselves while protecting the greater good of the organism. In the aftermath of eating cooked food or taking drugs, the white cell count rises to between 12,000-20,000 per cubic millimeter of blood. After clearing the bloodstream of toxic debris your white cell count decreases back to normal, about 4,300-7,000 per cubic millimeter of blood.
Healthfully Normal White Blood Cell Counts vs. Ordinary WBC Counts in the Typically Toxic
Although ordinary, this pathological average WBC count of 4,300-7,000 is exceedingly high and is based on the general populace who routinely consume junk food, cooked foods, condiments, soft drinks, teas, coffee, tobacco, and fermented foods: all of which cause abnormal proliferation of white cells. This phenomenon repeated each meal, each day, each week, each year for decades slowly lowers resistance to disease and hideously drains your auto-immune defensive response.
On the contrary, those who consume a clean-burning diet of predominantly raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds have white cell counts well below 4,300: and are mistakenly regarded as immunodeficient! The truth is: those who are REALLY suffering immunodeficiency diseases (as in AIDS) have destroyed their capacity to generate white blood cells, from constantly ingesting drugs or massive transfusions.
The healthy body is parsimonious, harvesting its resources strictly according to need. Your system is very economical in that it does not maintain faculties beyond what it requires. Healthy individuals whose blood streams are pure have lower white cell counts in circulation. The remainder is held in reserve within bone marrow, capillaries, and lymph nodes for times of emergency.
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and just for balance, here is an article to the contrary:
www.beyondveg.com/tu-j-l/ra...d-1i.shtml
(which i have not read through yet, but at first glance it appears to be written by someone who must be very attached to that veggie-burger)
www.living-foods.com/article...uce.html
and that article is VERY long and has a LOT of raw food info so i am pasting the part of the article that specifically discusses Leukocytosis:
Pinpointing the Pathogenic Nature of Cooked Foods: Leukocytosis
An increase in white corpuscles in the bloodstream is indicative of pathology. White corpuscles are the body's first line of defense against toxic or harmful substances. The typical white corpuscle count is about 6,000 per cubic millimeter. When this count doubles, triples or increases four or five fold it is evidence of a diseased condition even if outward appearance does not reflect it.
Dr. Kouchakoff of Switzerland conducted over 300 detailed experiments, which pinpointed the pathogenic nature of cooked and processed foods. Food heated to temperatures of just 120 to 190 degrees F (a range usually relegated to warming rather than cooking which, nevertheless destroys all enzymes), causes leukocytosis. Leukocytosis is a term applied to an abnormally high white corpuscle count.
On Raw Food, Leukocytosis Does Not Occur
Within a short time after eating food cooked at these low temperatures, white corpuscle counts tripled in the participants of Dr. Kouchakoff experiments. When raw foods were added to the meal, foods cooked in this low temperature range did not cause leukocytosis. At cooked temperatures higher than 190 degrees, no amount of raw food offset the pathological effects of heating, and leukocytosis always occurred.
There is no proliferation of white corpuscles when uncooked, raw fresh produce food is eaten. On the contrary, the constant daily fight against the toxic effects of cooked food eventually exhausts the immune system, causing age-related illness and premature death.
White Blood Cells and the Immune System
A spontaneous multiplication of white corpuscles takes place in normal blood immediately after the introduction of any virulent infection or poison since white corpuscles are the fighting organisms of the blood. The human body contains hundreds of defensive mechanisms including leukocytes, lymphocytes, plasma cells, monocytes, basophils, neutrophils, eosinophils, and granulocytes to clear the circulation of toxic materials. These serve to protect and continuously purify the body against the ravages of poisons.
White blood cells patrol your circulatory system and defend against alien potentially harmful substances that have been absorbed or injected into the body. White cells are sanitation engineers maintaining the purity of tissues, lymph, and body fluids. If poisons, bacteria, fungi (yeast), metabolic wastes, cooked food debris, or other foreign substances enter the blood, they are engulfed by white blood cells. White cells tolerate nothing abnormal in the circulatory system. Some of what is apprehended is recycled as food, especially organic materials. High concentrations however, overwhelm your immune system.
When pharmaceutical or recreational drugs, medicinal herbs, nutritional supplements, inorganic nutrients and cooked foods are consumed, leukocytosis occurs. An abnormal proliferation of leukocytes are released into your bloodstream from lymph glands and bone marrow where they are normally held in reserve until needed, to apprehend harmful alien substances before they disrupt and chemically unite with a significant number of cells and tissues.
In the process, white cells go on a suicide mission sacrificing themselves while protecting the greater good of the organism. In the aftermath of eating cooked food or taking drugs, the white cell count rises to between 12,000-20,000 per cubic millimeter of blood. After clearing the bloodstream of toxic debris your white cell count decreases back to normal, about 4,300-7,000 per cubic millimeter of blood.
Healthfully Normal White Blood Cell Counts vs. Ordinary WBC Counts in the Typically Toxic
Although ordinary, this pathological average WBC count of 4,300-7,000 is exceedingly high and is based on the general populace who routinely consume junk food, cooked foods, condiments, soft drinks, teas, coffee, tobacco, and fermented foods: all of which cause abnormal proliferation of white cells. This phenomenon repeated each meal, each day, each week, each year for decades slowly lowers resistance to disease and hideously drains your auto-immune defensive response.
On the contrary, those who consume a clean-burning diet of predominantly raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds have white cell counts well below 4,300: and are mistakenly regarded as immunodeficient! The truth is: those who are REALLY suffering immunodeficiency diseases (as in AIDS) have destroyed their capacity to generate white blood cells, from constantly ingesting drugs or massive transfusions.
The healthy body is parsimonious, harvesting its resources strictly according to need. Your system is very economical in that it does not maintain faculties beyond what it requires. Healthy individuals whose blood streams are pure have lower white cell counts in circulation. The remainder is held in reserve within bone marrow, capillaries, and lymph nodes for times of emergency.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................
and just for balance, here is an article to the contrary:
www.beyondveg.com/tu-j-l/ra...d-1i.shtml
(which i have not read through yet, but at first glance it appears to be written by someone who must be very attached to that veggie-burger)
posted by:
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Seattle
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Re: White blood cell count and Leukocytosis
Sat, April 12, 2008 - 7:31 PMAs interesting as that was I question the credibility of this doctor, who apparently has a questionable reputation. I am very interested in learning about this kind of stuff, but I like unbiased straight talk, and it can often be hard to find.
"There is no proliferation of white corpuscles when uncooked, raw fresh produce food is eaten."
This is not true. Statements like this make me question this guys credibility because some foods promote inflammation and trigger the production of white blood cells even in their raw state. A more honest statement might be that there is a higher association with inflammation with cooked foods than raw, but false statements like these make me think that the article is too biased to be considered credible.
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Re: White blood cell count and Leukocytosis
Sat, April 12, 2008 - 7:31 PM"Dr. Kouchakoff of Switzerland conducted over 300 detailed experiments, which pinpointed the pathogenic nature of cooked and processed foods. Food heated to temperatures of just 120 to 190 degrees F (a range usually relegated to warming rather than cooking which, nevertheless destroys all enzymes), causes leukocytosis. Leukocytosis is a term applied to an abnormally high white corpuscle count"
Does anyone know where I might find this study, or what journal it was published in? -
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Re: White blood cell count and Leukocytosis
Sat, April 12, 2008 - 7:51 PMI found it, but not in English at Scholar.google.com
This article did bring up an interesting point however.
"When Cooking Is Better? Iron
Some nutritionists and biochemists erroneously claim that raw isn’t always best. Sometimes cooked food gives more nutrients for the buck, say Rutgers University and Taiwanese researchers at the 1999 annual American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco. They found that the body more easily absorbs iron from 37 of 48 vegetables tested when boiled, stir-fried, steamed, or grilled. Absorbable iron in cabbage jumped from 6.7% to 27% with cooking. Iron in broccoli flowerets rose from 6% to 30%. What the researchers were apparently unaware of, is the potential harm of high inorganic iron absorption. "
However, it refuted that admission in the following paragraph. It made the following claim.
"The reason for iron becoming more “absorbable� with cooking is that heat breaks down cell structure more completely than chewing alone. "
While I think many if not most people get plenty of Iron and can do just fine on a 100% raw diet, there are a few things wrong with the rebuttal in the following paragraph. First of all, they are ignoring oxalic acids role in leeching iron from digestion which can be reduced in cooking. Second, they are greatly exaggerating the effects of lite cooking as it will not turn iron into a purely inorganic state even once the cellular matrix is broken down. That occurs at much much higher temperatures.
So, as a medical practitioner I could be supportive of a client going 100% raw for health reasons, and might want to increase my knowledge of how to eat a balanced raw diet, but I would not advise a 100% raw diet to somebody who in on the verge of anemia.
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