| If you want to make sure you are eating a healthy | | | | were fresh, if you handle it right and can it quickly. |
| diet full of vitamins and minerals, it isn't enough to | | | | Consider how fresh produce loses nutrients - in the |
| make sure you get multiple servings of fruits and | | | | first two weeks, generally half or more of the |
| veggies daily. You also need to consider what form | | | | vitamins in fresh produce are gone. That's with |
| of produce you are consuming. Canned food items | | | | proper handling. If the produce has not been |
| from the supermarket are a bad choice. Generally, | | | | preserved or chilled, half of the vitamins are lost in |
| these are loaded with salt and preservatives. | | | | the first few days after harvest. As an informed |
| In terms of freshness, your best option is of course | | | | consumer interested in nutrition, you are |
| fresh produce. Then next comes produce that is | | | | recommended to eat a wide variety of produce. |
| frozen. Finally at the bottom we have canned foods. | | | | Remember, the important factor is how quickly after |
| People are starting to realize that canned foods are | | | | harvest the produce is canned or frozen. In general, |
| not healthy and they are falling out of favor with | | | | right after picking the produce is brought to the |
| consumers. | | | | canning or freezing division. This is at peak nutrition. |
| To can foods, you need to pre-cook them. The | | | | Nutrient value is also affected by the canning method |
| heating process usually destroys between a third and | | | | that is used to preserve the produce. When |
| half of the vitamins A and C, and the riboflavin and | | | | vegetables are boiled in a great deal of water, they |
| thiamin, in produce. Then the canned food sits on | | | | lose much more of their nutritional value than do |
| shelves before you buy it. While in storage, the food | | | | vegetables that are only lightly steamed. |
| loses another 5-20% of those vitamins. Other | | | | If you can, pick vegetables or fruit fresh at the farm. |
| vitamins only decrease in value a small amount. | | | | That's as nutritious as you are going to find. If you |
| When you pick produce, or harvest it, the nutritional | | | | can't do this, then purchase your produce frozen |
| value will start to decline right away. You can keep it | | | | instead. |
| at peak freshness, in some cases as nutritious as if it | | | | |