We all know that eating more fruits and vegetables is a good way to become healthier and lose fat. They’re packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which will improve your immune system and help protect against heart disease and cancer.

 

But even though most people know this, there is still the question of fresh vs. frozen vegetables or fruits. Which are most nutritious?

In theory, vegetables and fruits that are in-season and were just picked will be fullest in vitamins and minerals. This is good to know if you live by a farm, but for us city folks, we will inevitably have to opt for second best options. So when we compare fresh and frozen foods, we have to take into account the transportation and storage times involved in both.

 

Fresh fruits and vegetables that you can buy at the supermarket are usually picked before they are ripe. That way they ripen during transportation, but the problem is that this also leaves less time to develop their full range of nutrients.

 

Depending on the type of fruit or vegetables, they will spend anywhere from a few days to several weeks on the road before arriving at the supermarket. Then it also takes 1–3 days to be sold and you also store them a few more at home. So in total, the fresh produce you consume at home isn’t so fresh after all.

They are usually picked at peak ripeness, which means they are in their most nutritious state.

 

Afterwards, vegetables will be washed, blanched and frozen. The blanching involves putting the vegetables in boiling water for a few minutes, which is done to kill bacteria, but it will also lower the vitamin C content of the food because vitamin c is not very heat resistant. Since the vegetables are boiled in water, there is also the risk of water-soluble nutrients leaching out.

 

Fruits, on the other hand, won’t be blanched, because they would lose their firmness. Also, in both cases no chemicals are added before freezing.

 

So if we take into account the nutrient loss due to transportation in fresh produce and the nutrient loss during blanching in frozen produce, which is better?

 

Interestingly, studies show that the nutritional content of both fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables is very similar. The nutrient loss from blanching is generally small and most frozen options are just as healthy as their fresh counterparts bough at the supermarket.

 

The levels of vitamin A, carotenoids and vitamin E, which are not affected by blanching are similar across the board.

 

What’s even more interesting is that, when studies compared frozen fruits and veggies to fresh ones that were stored in the fridge for 3 days, they found that in two-thirds of the cases, the frozen types contained more antioxidants.

 

This is definitely good news for frozen fruit and vegetables, which were long thought of as less healthy. Probably because of all the frozen junk food you can find at the supermarket, which you should definitely avoid. So whether you buy fresh or frozen will depend on your convenience, taste and budget.

It’s important to remember that how you cook your food also matters. Like I said before vitamin c is sensitive to heat and the water-soluble vitamins can leach out into the water. Therefore, steaming, stir-frying or microwaving your veggies will be your best option, because it’s quicker and less water is used.