Posted by kathryn in Antioxidants, Folate, A Balanced Diet and Vegetables

Another topic I’m frequently asked about is frozen vegetables: is there any point in eating them?

Why do we eat vegetables?

We eat vegetables for many reasons. They contain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that we need, and can’t get from other foods.

Vegies are also high in fibre, which is important for bowel health.

Without vegetables in your diet, you’re likely to be deficient in key nutrients and missing out on important antioxidants.

Diets low in vegetables are linked to many chronic diseases, including cardio-vascular disease, diabetes, macular degeneration.

How fresh is fresh?

However, as Choice points out, a key question is, how fresh are the vegetables you buy from the supermarket?

While fresh is best, many nutrients start degrading soon after the vegetable is picked. Therfore the longer they are stored, the fewer vitamins, minerals and antioxidants they will contain.

For example, after being refrigerated for eight days, English spinach has lost 47 percent of its folate and 46 percent of its carotenes.

By the time a vegetable gets to your dinner plate it has been

• picked
• packed
• loaded onto trucks
• transported by road / rail or air
• sold at market
• delivered to the retailer
• stored
• unpacked
• sat on the shelf
• purchased by you
• sat in your fridge
• and then . . . finally used.

At the very least, this process can take days. But it can also be weeks or months and during this time the vitamin, mineral and antioxidant levels are declining.

Moreover, advances in technology mean produce can be stored for longer, extending their availability well beyond the normal seasons. The examples given by Choice are:

Apples can be up to a year old when you buy them; grapes may have been stored for over two months. Even highly perishable fruit like strawberries might have been picked up to three weeks previously.

The advantages of freezing

In contrast, frozen vegetables are processed very soon after harvest. The technique of snap- or flash-freezing is used, where the vegetables are frozen very quickly and nutrient levels are not as likely to degrade. For example, frozen peas have 60 percent more carotene and similar levels of vitamin C to the fresh peas you buy in pods and then cook at home.

The most important issue in all of this, is to be eating your vegetables. Without them your diet is deficient. If frozen vegies make this possible, then go for it, confident in the knowledge you’re still getting lots of nutrients from them.

What do I do?

• I still buy most of my vegetables fresh, because I prefer the texture, plus it allows me flexibility of use – raw, grated, cooked, sti-fried and so on.
• Every fortnight I get a delivery of in-season organic vegies, which I know haven’t been stored over long periods.
• I top this up by trying to purchase in season vegetables from either my local supermarket or greengrocer.
• If I have time, I try to get to one of the weekend farmer’s markets , where you’re more likely (although not guaranteed) to get recently picked stuff.
• I always have a few packets of frozen vegies, including peas, in my freezer and I keep these for the nights when I’m tired and don’t want to chop anything, or when there’s nothing in the cupboard. I buy the brands which have a variety of vegetables in the packet.

Update: for brand suggestions and what I’ve been doing with frozen vegies, check out this later post: More on fresh vs frozen.

06 October, 2006