Cooking and calories
 

How much does cooking alter the calorie content of food? I've been having trouble calculating the number of calories in dishes that I prepare myself; I just add up the calorie content of the ingredients for an estimate, but I don't know how accurate this is.

It seems to me that heating things would tend to reduce the number of calories due to oxidation, but then there is plenty of heat to fuel an endothermic reaction. Anyone have some good rules of thumb for estimating calorie changes?

Can't you just get your calorie information measured from cooked foods?

I'm taking a nutrition class this semester and part of our homework is tracking our diet through this site....it's pretty nifty:

USDA - CNPP - MyPyramid Tracker

Unless you are seriously burning your food, I wouldn't believe that a significant number of calories are lost through the cooking process. I have nothing to back that statement up, however.

Agreed. At least not enough to have any noticeable effect on your weight one way or the other.
Unless, of course, you're deep-frying everything.

Why worry about calories? Just eat fresh, non-processed food in realistic portions.

I refuse to get that anal about my food. It's meant to be enjoyed not become an ordeal every time you need to eat.

I think you can accidentally cook the nutrients out of food, not the calories. Not enough to make any difference anyway.