Is frozen food as
healthy as fresh food?
Consumers have been
eating frozen foods for years and it is only natural that the question “is
frozen food as healthy as fresh food” should arise. If you’ve been wondering if
you should choose fresh over frozen, you’ll be happy to know that the answer is
“yes, they do have more or less the same nutritional value”. The process behind
each one is different and understanding the process they go through before they
arrive at the farmer’s market or the store freezer is important.
Fresh foods
Fresh food can refer
to fruits, vegetables and meats. When fruits and veggies are picked or dug up
from the ground, they are not completely ripe. The produce is collected at a
stage where it is almost ripe but still full of nutrients. From the soil or
tree, it is then cleaned and shipped. Foods are gathered and shipped at this
stage of their development because it guarantees consumers picture-perfect
products. Unfortunately, during shipping and importation, these foods are
exposed to sunlight, which dissolves sensitive minerals and vitamins like
Vitamin B and C. So even though the fruits and vegetables you buy look perfect
on the shelves, there were some nutrients lost in the process of getting them
there.
Frozen foods
Frozen food, on the
other hand, is also picked, dug and collected at the same growth stage, when it
is not entirely ripe. From that point onwards, it goes through blanching.
Blanching is when food is boiled for a specific time at a strict temperature.
This is for sterilization purposes. As the food is sterilized through
blanching, it loses some of its nutrients as well, some of which include
vitamin B and C. Foods are then frozen quickly, packaged and sent to
manufacturers and stores.
Is frozen food as
healthy as fresh food as far as meat is concerned? Meat is not as sensitive to
nutrient loss as fruits and vegetables and is likely to be as nutrient-loaded
whether it’s bought straight from the butcher or frozen.
Advantages of fresh food
It is fair to mention
that fresh food has an advantage over frozen food because of the extra loss of
nutrients during reheating. However, fresh food can also lose its value if it
is prepared in certain ways. The best way to prepare your vegetables is to
steam them instead of boiling. This is because vitamins and minerals can easily
be drained and left inside water after boiling.
Another point where
it’s possible to answer no to the question “is frozen food as healthy as fresh
food” is when it comes to taste. The longer frozen food stays in your freezer
and then boiled, the worse it tastes. Fresh foods do not lose their taste but
flavors might be altered because of the loss of vitamins and if they start to
rot if they sit on the shelves for too long.
The
debate about whether fresh food is as healthy as frozen food has been concluded
by the FDA. Yes, they do contain more or less the same nutritional value
regardless of the differences in transportation and processing.
