For a long time, wise men have known that, just like all the other living creatures on this glorious Earth, human beings were meant to eat raw foods. Raw = Healthy, Cooked = Toxic.
Now that you've an A' level background in Chemistry and Biology, you are in a better position to understand why.
One principle reason is FATS - raw (healthy and needed) vs cooked (unhealthy and carcinogenic). Those interested can email me for more details on this.
But there is another reason - Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) caused by the biochemical process known as Glycation (the 'evil' counterpart of Glycosylation, a natural, precision process which occurs under the careful guidance of enzymes).
Glycation is the non-enzymatic (ie. haphazard) process of covalent cross-linkages that, under heating (ie. cooking), form between carbohydrate molecules and proteins or fats. This process is totally unnatural (ie. does not occur in raw foods), and as a result, eating cooked foods (especially deep fried, fried, baked, grilled, bbq'ed, etc) causes and exacerbates diseased conditions in the body of all kinds, from kidney failure to cancer to lowered IQ/EQ.
The higher the temperature and the longer the exposure (hence, deep fried foods is obviously the worst!), the more extensive the glycation process. Boiled/steamed foods are the only category of cooked foods that are safe to eat.
There is more to the story. Read the following articles (for the sake of your loved ones, not just your own) :
Straits Times Article on AGEs:
http://infinity.usanethosting.com/pics/StraitsTimes_WillTheGrillKill.jpgWikipedia entries :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_glycation_endproductDr Mirkin.com :
http://www.drmirkin.com/archive/6847.htmlFreePatentsOnline.com (on Vit B1 & B6 as potential inhibitors of AGEs)
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6750209.htmlNew York Academy of Sciences (on Vit E as potential inhibitor of AGEs)
http://www.annalsnyas.org/cgi/content/full/1043/1/947