Your instinct at first will be to shout out “of course fresh food is better, its fresh and tastes well”, but it's heavily dependable on various circumstances.What you think is freshly produced from the grocery store may be picked or pulled from the ground several days even weeks before.The freshness of the fruits and vegetables are measured from the point it is harvested from the farm.
What does bioavailability mean?
It is the part of substance or drugs which enters the circulation when introduced into the body and so is able to have its effect. It is a way in which food breakdown and gives its nutrients. which in turn gives up its goodies to our bodies by loosening up.When we cook the food, we may either increase or decrease the bioavailability of food. Cooking includes heat, which may destroy some nutrients up to some extent or may release their essential compounds.It also depends on meal composition. The compounds present in vegetables and fruits can affect the bioavailability of nutrients in both positively or negatively way.What healthy or unhealthy foods we are eating alongside those vegetables will make our overall diet less or more nutritious.For example, when we eat fat our body absorbs many fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K.So, it is better to eat healthy fats along with vegetables to increase its bioavailability to our body.
Fresh Produce
First, let me differentiate the different ways in which fresh fruits and vegetables are produced:
- Vine-ripened: When it is picked in its ripe form and sold as it is. We can see these vine-ripened fruits or vegetables in farmer’s market, grocery store or farmer’s roadside fruit stand.
- Postharvest ripened: When the fruit or vegetables are picked when it is bit raw or about to get ripe. And its ripening process follows through when it is transported or stored for some time.
You might think that vine-ripened produce would be more nutrient dense since it was in the soil for a longer time than its counterpart. Thus absorbing more nutrients from the soil. But it is not completely true.Plants do absorb a huge percentage of the important nutrients and minerals during its early stages of growth, and fruits and vegetables can still create macronutrients and micronutrients during postharvest ripening.So, there is not much difference between nutrients content of Vine-ripened produce and postharvest-ripened produce. There are a variety of other factors like quality of soil, seasonal and weather effect, duration of storage and condition and farming method.
Frozen Produce
Foods are frozen and stored when in fully vine-ripened and undergo only minimal processing.Since the beginning of times fisherman, farmers and trappers have preserved grains and produce in buildings which is cold and always unheated during the winter season.Food, when harvested, releases residual moisture which slowly degrades it. But when we freeze the food we turn that residual moisture into ice. Thus inhibiting the growth of many bacterial species.Most vegetables and some fruits undergo blanching process in which they are dipped in hot water for a few minutes before freezing.The main reason for doing it is to inactivate enzymes that may cause unfavourable changes in smell, flavour, colour and nutritional value.Blanching process does reduce some vitamins and minerals, buts it's minimal.Most manufacturers put cut up vegetables in hot water to kill some harmful bacteria and lock in their colour.As we know that vitamin B and C are water soluble, they do break down in this process (when exposed to heat).So frozen vegetables are not ideal sources of these water-soluble nutrients, but may still contain some percentage of those vitamins.But according to me the frozen foods which have undergone blanching process affect our taste bud a little bit. Unlike fresh foods, it lacks that unique, fresh just-picked flavour.
Fresh vs Frozen
After harvesting, the fresh food loses a lot of time between transportation and handling to reach the shelves of our grocery store.They start to lose moisture, become susceptible to spoilage and decline in nutrient value. This fresh food contains enzymes which start degrading as soon as its harvested.Long-term storage may also cause the decrease in nutritional value and degradation of vitamins (especially vitamin C), so eat fresh produce quickly after purchase to get the most of it.The process of freezing may affect some of the vitamin content, but it essentially freezes or locks most of the nutrients.Freezing vegetable soon after harvest, helps to retain its nutrient content.When local produce is not in the season, it is better to go for frozen food as it may have more nutrition in that instance.Studies have shown frozen peas, broccoli, beans, and spinach have more nutrients than their fresh counterparts.In a series of studies after three days of storage frozen broccoli has higher levels of Vitamin C and beta-carotene, frozen blueberries are much higher in polyphenols and anthocyanin and froze sprouts were higher in all major nutrient contents.Fresh green beans, for example, have more beta-carotene than frozen, but frozen peas showed more beta-carotene than fresh varieties.Frozen fruits may contain added sugar which would make them unfavourable when compared to its healthy counterpart.Also be careful when picking frozen vegetable especially in the form of soup or sauces as they may contain a high amount of sodium and other harmful preservatives.The major disadvantage with frozen food is its loss of texture and taste.Its best suggested using frozen fruits and vegetables to make smoothies or puree them to make soups or gravies because then the texture won’t matter that much.Also, proximity to our local farmer’s market gives us access to fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables. The fresh fruits and vegetable from the garden or from the farmer’s market are of highest quality, nothing can compare its level of nutrients and taste.It is better to go for both fresh and frozen food when you are shopping at a supermarket in order to get maximum possible nutrition from those foods.Avoid boiling fresh or frozen produce, which further reduces the nutrient value of these foods; choose to steam instead. When you do opt for frozen, cook it straight from the freezer.In a study issued in 2000 edition of Die Nahrung, discovered that boiling or thawing vegetables, especially okra, spinach and green beans, prior to cooking led to a greater loss of vitamin C.Steaming frozen vegetables in a small amount of water in a stainless steel pan leads to the greatest preservation of vitamin C.Two studies conducted in England have found that some fruits have shown more beneficial nutrients when frozen rather than fresh.Antioxidants and other key nutritional components of food are known to be affected by factors such as handling and storage conditions.The drive of this study was to calculate the influence of storage conditions on a range of fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables.In this study fresh produce was stored in a general household refrigerator at 4oC for up to 3 days and a comparison made with equivalent frozen produce stored in a domestic freezer at -20oC.Researchers found that most of the fruits and vegetable scored better on antioxidant type compound including polyphenols, vitamin C, lutein, anthocyanin and beta-carotene.Studies 1&2: http://bfff.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Leatherhead-Chester-Antioxidant-Reports-2013.pdfI must just mention that these two studies were funded by British frozen food association, so we must bear this in mind.
Which is Healthier
Here comes the million-dollar question, which is healthier or which one should we consume more?It doesn’t make much difference as long as you are eating vegetables.The best method is the one that gets you eat your veggies. Whether they are fresh or frozen if you eat enough fruits and vegetable every day you’re going to rip some of their nutritional benefits.It is also to have proper meal composition comprising of a balanced diet. Include healthy carbs, fats and protein in every meal to increase the bioavailability of fruits and vegetables.
Note: this article is from own website the holisticwellbeing
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