SS 169 – Which is More Nutritious: Frozen vs. Fresh vs. Canned Fruits And Veggies

Grant and Heavey discuss fruit and vegetable preparation – fresh, frozen, canned – which is healthier?  Is there a difference in nutritional value?

 

This episode is brought to you by Health IQ.

 

[03:40] The Case for Optimism

 

Grant mentions an article called, The Case for Optimism, where it basically outlines an interview done with the author of the book called, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress, where the author suggests that we should be very optimistic. It’s not that the media is bad, but nowadays, it is everywhere. There’s a danger in neglecting progress as well as giving attention to the potential conflicts out there.

 

Grant found this article to be a “centering” moment. The takeaway he got from this article is the need for balancing your stresses/concerns and taking time to focus on the positive things we’re doing.

 

Heavey goes on to say that our management of stress depends on our perception of it. This is something that can be practiced, trained, and honed over time. The more you get freaked out at things, the stronger it affects you on a physiological level and impairs your health long term. The more resilient you are and the more you can keep a positive lens on problematic issues, then your health is going to be less affected by stress in the long haul.

 

Additionally, Heavey admits most of his stressors are around work. If something isn’t going as well as he’d like, he would have a tendency to take it personally. He sees this as something that even he needs to work on.

 

[09:00] Adopting an Evidence-Based Mindset with an Open Minded Attitude

 

The author suggested that in order to deal with negative news, you have to “adopt an evidence-based mindset along with an open minded attitude.”

 

Heavey adds that people have this tendency to go into this eco-chamber, be it our own doing or due to social media. For instance, Facebook keeps showing you items or posts that they think you would support. Based on their algorithm, you are inundated with that type of news, videos, and sponsors. Your newsfeed becomes consumed with similar posts and since it’s all you’ll see, it can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture and instead believe that that’s how all people think also. If you can broaden your exposure, then you can have a more tempered outlook on the reality of the situation.

 

[11:03] Frozen versus Canned

 

While Grant loves frozen peas, Heavey loves having frozen fruits in the morning and frozen vegetables for lunch, or sometimes even dinner. But which is healthier? Frozen, canned, or fresh.

 

Grant believes frozen and canned are superior to fresh in terms of flavor. For instance, the best tomatoes go right off the vine into cans. You can get the most delicious tomatoes in cans. The ones in the store are typically picked prematurely before they ripen so they last longer. They never develop all the flavor that they would get if you got them out of the can.

 

[14:05] Fresh is Best, Or Is It?

People think fresh means best but it’s impossible to make them both fresh and with the most flavor. Heavey points out that “fresh” is actually a relative term. Most fruits and vegetables are post-harvest ripened, which means they’re picked prematurely and then left to ripen off the vine. Otherwise, they’d spoil before we could purchase them and cook them.

 

From a nutritional perspective, there is a controversy going on around vine-ripened and ripening them in the truck. Grant clarifies that what you see in the store where they claim their products are “vine-ripened” is total BS when when you’re talking about fruit to vine to soil. If you really like the true sense of vine-ripened then it’s like the farmer’s market type of environment. The local farmer can pick the food in small quantities and deliver them to the farmer’s market.

 

[16:05] Is the Nutritional Value Affected?

 

By and large, the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables in terms of post-harvest ripening versus vine ripening is roughly equivalent. Therefore, the ripening method alone has nothing to do with it. This is because most of the nutritional value in fruits and vegetables come in the early stages of their development, which is usually based on the mineral content of the soil.

 

The quality of the soil has a great effect on the nutritional value of the fruit and vegetable, much less so than the ripening mechanism.

 

Moreover, fruits and vegetables can synthesize macro and micro nutrients after they’ve been picked.

 

[17:40] The Holy Grail of Nutrition

 

Thinking about fresh fruits and vegetables as the holy grail of nutrition, you have to remember that a lot of times, those are being shipped from far off locales, which are grown from all around the world. How well the environment is controlled during that shipping period greatly affects the nutritional content of those foods.

 

Thus, putting fresh fruits and vegetables on a pedestal for nutritional value is sort of a misnomer.

 

Moreover, there is data behind the micronutrients from backyard-grown produce versus one you get in the store. Heavey explains this is difficult to control since the soil is one of the major factors in the nutritional value of that certain produce. As a result, it’s hard to make a comparison.

 

[19:25] What Are Frozen Produce? How Healthy Are They?

 

Frozen fruits and vegetables are usually vine-ripened produce. They’re taken to full ripeness, picked, and go through some minimal amount of processing. They’re usually blanched in water for a very short period of time, then frozen, and packaged up before they’re sent to the store.

 

The idea behind blanching is that it inactivates some of the enzymes present in the foods that can lead to unfavorable changes- both in nutritional value, flavor, and everything else.

 

Frozen produce are fresh fruits and vegetables that are frozen on the spot and then transported effectively under frozen conditions. So once they’re in the store, they can just be unfreezed and then all the nutrients can be reactivated. Heavey points out that though there’s this negative connotation with frozen foods, they’re actually healthy!

 

Also, when you blanch vegetables, they are exposed to water for a short period of time so you’re losing a small amount of the water-soluble vitamins during this process.

 

Heavey uses frozen fruits and vegetables everyday. One of his favorite applications is having a little bit of yogurt in the morning with frozen berries. Then he waits for ten minutes until he eats it. However, there are other fruits like watermelon that don’t freeze well.

 

[24:10] Fresh versus Preserved

 

Grant stresses that preserving food is important. You can often get better flavor and better nutrition through something that’s preserved rather than fresh. It doesn’t mean it’s always better though. Don’t feel like you’re short-changing yourself for getting frozen or canned just because you don’t have time or the budget or the time to plan, because in some ways, it’s superior.

 

[24:50] Canned Fruits and Vegetables

 

Canned produce also are vine-ripened and put into the can. They typically undergo more processing than freezing. Often times, they’re blanched just like the frozen fruits and vegetables, but then they’re usually placed in syrup and then salts and other additives are usually present.

 

Additionally, the processing of these foods can lead to a nutrient breakdown. They could be less nutrient-dense than frozen or fresh.

 

Heavey adds that when selecting your source of fruits and vegetables, the best source is the one you’re going to eat. If canned peas are your favorite, then just eat them and don’t obsess about buying fresh peas.

 

[26:30] Issues with Canning: Plastics and Heat

 

Some cans are lined with plastics. It’s possible that the plastic used contains BPA. It’s supposed to have been phased out already because it has been replaced with BPB. We see some indications that it’s better than BPA, but that doesn’t mean it has been fully vetted. Down the line, we may uncover that BPB is also bad in other ways.

 

Alongside plastics, the heat from sterilization of cans can actually activate bleaching of the compounds from the plastic into the food. It’s not necessarily bad, but this is something you should be aware of. In particular, the acidity of tomatoes can break down the plastics as well. Unfortunately, manufacturers are not usually transparent about the materials they use in the cans. They could say they’re BPA-free but they’re not necessarily saying what they’re actually made of.

 

[28:35] What About Frozen Meals?

 

Historically, frozen meals have been garbage due to their nasty flavor and look. But other than that, it isn’t necessarily bad. Today, we’re actually seeing frozen meals in a different way with all these meal delivery services.

 

It all comes down to the process of freezing the foods. This goes back to the organic local farmer. If you understand the process and have a relationship with the vendor, then you can appreciate that the care that goes into their product is high enough. It’s not necessarily compromising the nutrition of the food they’re producing.

 

The way Heavey has bought meat is from a local farmer’s market that have been butchered and frozen and vacuum-sealed which you can keep for over a year.

 

[31:35] Scotch Talk

 

Today, Grant and Heavey review the 15-year Dalwhinnie Highland single malt. They both love peaty whiskeys but this bottle is not one of them. This is supposed to represent the Highland region. Heavey thinks it’s fine although he doesn’t really love it. Grant likes it a lot on the other hand.

 

At $65-$70 for a 15-year scotch, it’s actually inexpensive. Grant adds it is a highly rated scotch, and sets a great example of the region. There’s no added color, right out of the ex-Bourbon casks. It’s very fruit-forward without being sweet. You get a floral notes with longer, and softer, more mellow finish. It’s an easy drink and simple without being a crappy drink. Ultimately, this is something you can try to see what a Highland is all about, especially if you want to go for something that’s not really peaty.

 

 

Links:

The Case for Optimism

Health IQ