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Thursday, January 3, 2008
Is Fresh Produce Always the Healthier Choice?
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Which do you think is more nutritious, fresh produce or frozen? Most people would say fresh. In fact, I asked several people in my office and they all answered, without a doubt, “fresh.” However, the truth is that most frozen fruits and vegetables are processed at their peak ripeness, which is when they are most nutrient-packed. Fresh produce, on the other hand, is often picked before its peak ripeness because of lengthy travel before it arrives at the supermarkets. Once it arrives at the supermarkets it may sit there under lighting for days before being sold. Worse yet, it may take even longer to be consumed, which further lessens the nutrition value. Still, beware! This does not mean that frozen is always better than fresh.How can you be sure to get the most of your produce selections? Well, when vegetables and fruits are in-season, buy them fresh and ripe. For fruits and vegetables that are off-season, choose frozen since this will give you more nutrients per serving. Always choose packaging that is marked with a USDA “U.S. Fancy” shield because produce of this standard tend to be more nutritious than lower grades. Try to eat the fruits and veggies soon after you buy them. For off-season frozen produce keep in mind that no matter how nutrient dense they may be when you purchase them, storing them for months will greatly decrease their nutritive value.
That said, the current recommendation is for 9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, and Americans consume barely one-third of this. So, just like with exercise, when it comes to choosing canned, frozen or fresh, any vegetable is better than none at all!
Renee, LD/N, NSCA-CPT, ACSM
“If you had one car to get around in your lifetime, how would you treat it?"
Labels: produce
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