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Get Five a Day – Fresh or Frozen

Posted February 2, 2008 at 03:00 PM by Caroline Shannon

Section: Her Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Vegetarianism, Her News

Next to, “brush your teeth” and “clean your room,” the age-old parental warning to “eat your vegetables” is a bit of advice to which every adult woman should still be replying, “Yes, ma’am.”

And the only smarty-pants rebuttal that one may offer to this solid parental advice is: Fresh or frozen?

According to Monica Reinagel, chief nutritionist for NutritionData.com, that is a question answered by one major factor – location.

“Many people are surprised to learn the answer to that question,” said Reinagel, who is also the author of The ND Blog: Notes From the Nutritionista. “It all depends on how long the food has been in storage and how long it has taken to get to you.”

Reinagel explained that, for example, if a woman lives close to a farm where green beans are grown, then she knows the fresh produce did not take days, or even weeks, to reach her grocery store. On the other hand, if the available green beans in her produce aisle just endured a three-week shipment from South America, well, then, she is probably better off going for the frozen beans.

“It’s all a matter of where you are getting it from,” Reinagel said. “Frozen is a great choice, and sometimes the better choice.”

Joyce Weinberg, president and founder of City Food Tours, agrees with Reinagel:

“Today, most veggies are flash frozen close to when and where the veggies are picked, so that most nutrients and vitamins are preserved,” Weinberg said. “Assuming that the product is kept continually frozen during the distribution process, frozen veggies are healthy.”

And the fact still stands that only 28% and 32% of Americans are meeting the USDA guidelines for eating fruits and vegetables, respectively, according to a recent study by the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research. So, when it comes right down to it, making the choice to eat fruits and vegetables in the first place seems like the point to emphasize.

“Frozen food is a great option, especially if certain produce is not in season where you live,” Reinagel said. “Or if budget is an issue.”

Reinagel said, despite popular belief, freezing produce actually preserves a great deal of its nutrient content. For more information, she suggests visiting NutritionData for a chart about the nutritional effects of food processing.

What’s more, Reinagel and Weinberg both emphasize that having a basic knowledge of the produce that is locally grown around her home can tremendously help a woman make an educated decision.

“I know that if I see tropical fruit in my grocery store, it’s not local,” Reinagel said, laughing at the concept because of her location in Baltimore, Md.

And as for the fruit that is grown locally, Weinberg said, “There is nothing tastier or with more nutrients and vitamins than a fresh picked, locally grown leafy green, lettuce or tomato that is picked in season and sold at the farm or at a farmer’s market later that day.”

For more information about locally-grown produce, Reinagel suggests visiting Sustainable Table to find what produce is grown in your hometown.

In addition to writing for several publications, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Divorce360.com, long-time journalist Caroline Shannon is a lover of all things related to health and nutrition. She has been a runner for more than ten years and is a certified Pilates instructor. Check out more from Caroline on her her blog, Eat, Pray, Run.

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Tags: 100 mile diet, buying local, fresh, frozen vegetables, fruit, local produce, locally-grown, monica reinagel, notes from the nutritionista, nutrients, nutrition, nutrition data, produce

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