Fresh, Frozen, or Canned… Which Veggies Should I Eat?

I had this question submitted to me, and it will make the perfect topic for a quick blog.  I’ll hopefully be back to more substantial topics on the blog next week, but I hope you enjoy this blog in the mean time…

When it comes to eating veggies, do you ever wonder if there is a difference between eating veggies from a can or bag (frozen) versus eating fresh veggies?  Well, like many questions of health and wellness the answer is: it depends.  I’ll briefly touch on the considerations regarding this topic, give you my hierarchy of vegetable eating, and finally wrap up with a bit about my take home points on this topic.

When we are trying to decide the best sources for our veggies, there are many small considerations to factor in.  As I go through this discussion, I’m going to make the assumption that we are all trying to eat more veggies, and that we want to get the most nutrients we can possibly get from said veggies.  I think that goes without saying, but I’ve said it anyway…  You’re welcome!  Anyway, the first consideration I’ll address is not necessarily related to our health, or the nutrient content of our diet.  The first thing I think that needs to be mentioned here is sustainability.  Eating fresh local veggies is very good from a sustainability standpoint, and can’t be matched by any other veggie option.  Go buy it from the farm if/when that’s possible!  Here are the other considerations that come to mind:

• Additives: If you’re eating frozen or canned, what are you getting other than the veggies you’re after?  Read labels and understand what you’re actually eating.
• Frozen Veggies are Picked at Their Peak: If you buy conventional produce in the grocery store it was picked before its’ peak so that it could spend many days getting to the store so you could purchase it.  Produce has its’ highest nutritional content at its’ peak ripeness.  Frozen veggies are picked at that peak, and then flash frozen to lock those nutrients in.  Therefore, some believe they can potentially have higher nutrient content than fresh conventional produce.
• Conventional Produce is Picked Early, and Transported:  Picking it early, then transporting ends up with produce that is below its’ peak of nutritional content for a couple reasons.  First, picking early means the produce hasn’t had an opportunity to get to its’ prime, and therefore is somewhat less nutritious.  Second, the transport process exposes the produce to numerous factors that degrade it (light, heat, pressure, etc).
• How Long Will it be in Your Fridge: We already know produce looses nutrient content as time goes by, so if you buy fresh produce and put it in your fridge for a week before eating it, how much nutrient value has been lost?
• Nutrients Lost in Preservation Process: Before veggies are canned and sent to your grocery store, they go through a preservation process.  There is some disagreement about how much nutrient content is lost in that process, but everyone agrees there is some nutrient content lost.
• Water Soluble Vitamins are Lost While in the Can:  While your canned veggies sit in water on the shelf, some of the water soluble vitamins leach out of the veggies and into the water where they are lost when you drain the can.

So, we have considerations all over the place here.  What does that leave us with?  As I see it, here’s the hierarchy of veggie options, from good to better to best:

1. Frozen or canned with minimal additives (good)
2. Canned veggies without additives (better)
3. Fresh conventional produce (better)
4. Frozen veggies without additives (better)
5. Fresh local produce (Best)

Finally here are your take home points:

1. Eat More Meat and Veggies: I may have mentioned this before in the blog, but whatever route you take to get there, be sure to eat more meat and veggies!
2. Stop Stressing About Details:  If you’re eating more veggies that come from a can, that’s markedly better than eating from a drive-thru.  Don’t stress too much over the details cause on some level it’s just splitting hairs…
3. Eat More Meat and Veggies:  See #1 in this list…
4. Make the Decisions that Work for You:  Again, if all you can do right now is eat canned veggies with your meat, that’s great.  Maybe someday you will have the resource (time, money, cooking skill) to move up the hierarchy, but for now do what works for you.