Fresh, frozen or canned?

Fruits and vegetables have complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and are low in fat, with high amounts of fibre - soluble and insoluble. Consumption of adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables has been found to protect against most chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and certain types of cancer.

Based on the Jamaica Healthy Lifestyle Survey 2000 and 2008, Jamaicans are not consuming sufficient amounts of fruits and vegetables. The Ministry of Agriculture is advocating that we 'eat what we grow, and grow what we eat' to increase the production, consumption of fruits and vegetables and build our economy, but most of all to make us a healthier people.

Fruit and vegetables are available fresh, canned in own juice or water, sugar (heavy or light), in water - fresh or salted, frozen, dried, and even coated with sugar. The question is, which is better - fresh, frozen or canned?

Fresh fruits and vegetables are usually harvested at an unripened state and allowed to ripen but may not reach peak nutritive value as they may deteriorate during packing, storage or transportation. To maintain the nutrients in fresh produce, the storage conditions must be suitable. Some produce are best when allowed to ripen or mature before harvesting, such as citrus fruits (oranges), melon, pineapple, cherry, callaloo, pumpkin and cucumber, whereas others such as banana, mango, papaya, and tomato continue to ripen or mature after harvesting.

When fruits are consumed at peak maturity, most nutrients are intact. When fruits and vegetables are cut and exposed to air, some nutrients such as vitamin C are lost because of oxidation. When vegetables such as callaloo, carrot and broccoli are cooked, the texture is changed to soft because of the loss of water from cells, making them mushy if cooked for too long.

Good substitute

When produce is frozen, it is usually blanched first to prevent oxidation, loss of nutrients, kill bacteria and retain colour before freezing. Frozen produce may lose some essential nutrients with prolonged storage in fridge and freezer. Frozen produce is a good substitute for fresh ones because the process of flash-freezing locks in nutrients in the rich state.

Canned produce is harvested and canned at peak maturity. The delicate vitamins are lost during the process but other nutrients are usually intact. The colour of the produce may be affected during the canning process but substances such as soda are sometimes added to green vegetables to maintain the green colour. Canning makes produce always available for consumers in and out of seasons so they can get the health benefits all year round.

The recommendation for fruits and vegetables is five servings per day. A serving of fruit is four ounces whole or half-cup unsweetened juice, which provides approximately 60 kilocalories. A serving of vegetables is four ounces or half-cup unsweetened juice, which provides 25 kilocalories. For high fibre, choose fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. Choose canned fruits that are packed in own juice or light sugar or syrup and vegetables in little or no salt for health and wellness.

Marsha N. Woolery is a registered dietitian/nutritionist in private practice and adjunct lecturer at Northern Caribbean University; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.