How Cooking at Home Can Benefit Your Health

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Health

Vocabulary

processed
Adjective
ˈprɑsɛst
(of food) changed in order to make it taste better, last longer, etc.
You shouldn't eat too much processed food; it's not good for your health.

Nutrient
ˈnuːtriənt
any substance that helps humans and animals grow
Raw vegetables contain more nutrients than cooked ones.

calorie
Noun
ˈkæləri
a unit for measuring how much energy there is in food
I'm very careful about how many calories I consume a day.

culinary
Adjective
ˈkjuːləˌnɛriː
relating to cooking or food
The local university offers several culinary programs.

self-esteem
Noun
self ɪˈstiːm
a sense of confidence in one's own ability and worth
Being bullied as a child can cause long-term damage to one's self-esteem.

socialization
Noun
ˌsəʊʃələˈzeɪʃn
the activity of interacting socially with other people
Increased socialization with other students helped manage his anger problems.
Article
How Cooking at Home Can Benefit Your Health

A quick look at social media shows that, with many countries in lockdown to prevent the
spread of coronavirus, people are spending a lot of time cooking for themselves. Cooking a
meal from scratch is not only a good way to pass the time and create great Instagram
content, it also has a number of health benefits.

Less Processed Food

Cooking for yourself probably means that you will be eating much less processed food,
which is often high in fat, sugar and salt, and low in fiber and essential nutrients.

A 2018 study that looked at the diets of nearly 105,000 adults in France found that eating
large amounts of ultra-processed food was associated with an increased risk of getting any
kind of cancer. Very sugary food and drinks were also associated with an increased risk of
breast cancer.

Fewer Calories
Research published in 2014 by a team at Johns Hopkins University found that people who
often cooked dinner for themselves at home consumed fewer calories.

The study of over 9,500 Americans found that adults who cooked at home once a week or
less consumed an average of 2,300 calories a day, while people who cooked dinner six to
seven nights a week ate just over 2,160 calories every day, and also ate less fat and sugar.

Mental Health Boost

Cooking may help your mental health too. Culinary therapy, which gets mental health
patients learning about food and cooking, is used to treat things like depression and anxiety.
It aims to not only help patients develop a healthy relationship with food, but also reduce
stress and improve self-esteem.

A 2018 review of studies on culinary therapy found that treatments using cooking do seem
to have a positive effect on self-esteem, socialization and quality of life, though more
research is needed to be sure.