A diet should include a variety of fruits and vegetables. Fresh, frozen and canned each contain important nutrients and contribute to a healthy diet. How could there be anything better than fresh? That's the question that baffles people when it comes to comparing fresh fruits and vegetables vs. frozen or canned.
As a general rule, fresh fruits and vegetables, direct from harvest, are highest in nutrients. However, the catch is that by the time fresh fruits and vegetables get to the grocery store, they've been in transit for up to two weeks, bouncing down the freeway in semi trucks, or even flying in from another part of the world! Then, they sit in the grocery store, quietly losing nutritional value as they wait to be purchased. Once bought, they often sit even more time in the fruit bowl or in the produce drawer in the refrigerator. That said, there are benefits to buying and eating canned or frozen vegetables.
The canning process locks in nutrients at their peak of freshness. Since there is little oxygen they are stored, canned fruits and vegetables remain relatively stable up until the time they are consumed. Frozen products are also packed at their peak of freshness. Frozen fruits and vegetables may be more nutritious in some cases if stored for short periods of time under well-controlled temperatures.
When you eat fresh fruits and vegetables, do so as soon as possible. Some fresh vegetables, such as spinach and green beans, lose up to 75% of their vitamin C within 7 days of harvest, even when held at the recommended refrigerator temperature.
Next week we will cover the best ways to prepare the vegetables and fruits for nutritional preservation.
Rebecca
