Why Fresh Food May Not Always Be Best

2024-09-02

In a perfect world, you might eat freshly picked apples, corn and salad greens every day; in reality, that's pretty hard to do. But, while fresh produce is always great to eat, that doesn't mean you should rule out frozen or even canned goods when it comes to getting your daily doses of veggies and fruits.

Research conducted by UC Davis found that freezing and canning produce might actually preserve some of the nutritional value that could otherwise be lost as it ages. And, while the researchers stated, "fresh-picked produce stored for a short time under optimal conditions and consumed raw will most likely provide maximal nutrition," they did find that in some cases, certain vitamins and nutrients increased in canned or frozen products.

As SELF has reported, here are 6 examples of canned or frozen foods that pack a better nutritional punch than fresh:

-Orange juice: An 8-ounce glass of orange juice made from frozen concentrate can have up to three times the vitamin C as the ready-to-drink variety, which loses the vitamin through exposure to oxygen.

-Peaches: A half cup of frozen peaches contains almost 20 times more vitamin C (118 milligrams) than fresh and 30 times more than canned, thanks to the ascorbic acid (aka vitamin C) that's added to maintain color.

-Tomatoes: The lycopene in cooked canned tomato sauce is five times higher than in the same amount of fresh raw tomatoes. Lycopene may reduce the risk of ovarian and breast cancers.

-Asparagus: A half cup of frozen asparagus gives you 54 percent of the RDA for folate (folic acid), versus 20 percent from fresh or canned. Folate taken just prior to and during pregnancy reduces the risk of fetal neural tube defects.

-Mandarin oranges: A half cup of canned mandarin oranges provides you with more vitamin C (57 percent of the RDA) than its freshly peeled counterpart. (Choose canned fruits with the lowest sugar content.)

-Apricots: If you're looking for a hefty dose of vitamin A, go with dried: A half cup offers 34 percent of the RDA, three times that of canned and more than twice that of fresh.

"Raw or cooked, fresh, frozen, canned or even juiced produce is loaded with key nutrients such as carbohydrates, Vitamin C, A, E, folate, potassium and dietary fiber," says Angela Ginn, registered dietitian and a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "Produce is rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients to fight against chronic disease, and canned or frozen fruit and vegetables can be an accessible, affordable and equally healthy option as fresh, especially when produce is out of season."

In fact, freezing your own produce can help you save money, says Ginn. "For example, if you bought red and yellow peppers on sale but can't able to use them by the end of the week, clean and cut the peppers and package them in a freezer container, with as little air as possible." Then you can use them any time. SELF recommends looking for low-density polyethylene (LDPe) frozen-food bags because they don't emit chemicals and are recyclable.

In some cases, nutritional value can be lost when certain fruits or veggies are canned; the UC Davis researcher noted that fiber is lost when fruits or veggies undergo separation before they are canned (for example, as when fruit is peeled and then preserved). What's the most important thing to keep in mind when shopping for fruits and veggies, and deciding between fresh and frozen or canned? According to Ginn, start with choosing fresh produce that's in season and preferably local. "Consider your carbon footprint," she says.

Then, keeping in mind that frozen produce is picked at the peak of ripeness, choose frozen options that are out of season to add a wide variety of color (and therefore, a wide variety of nutrients) to your diet. Finally, when it comes to canned produce, Ginn says to look for low-sodium options and fruit packed in light juice.