Dear Doctor,

I’m trying to eat more fruits and vegetables, but I don’t have time to go to the grocery store every week. So I stock up on frozen produce. Am I missing out on any nutritional benefits by eating frozen instead of fresh?

Anna

Dear Hilda

With the improvement of technology, food processing has become a big industry. Vegetables and fruits are plucked, frozen immediately, canned and transported to hundreds and even thousands of miles away to be used weeks, months and even years later. It may be heated in a microwave or in a simple oven or over a gas stove to be used.

The companies selling these frozen foods claim that since it is directly plucked and then frozen and processed immediately, it retains the nutrients. The list of nutrients is also displaced over the container. But in reality, fresh fruits and vegetables are always superior to frozen ones.

During processing, the product is subjected to heat and pressure. This destroys anti oxidants, and some essential micronutrients present.

During processing and even when one thaws it before use, water soluble vitamins like vitamin C and B leach out and are lost. Many of these fruits are picked a little before they are ripe; then frozen and packed. This prevents all the essential nutrients to build up in the fruit or vegetable.

Over a period of time, however good they may have been processed and packed, the nutrients in frozen foods start to degrade slowly. Thus if a long time has passed, one may get the taste but not the nutrition.

Some of the processed canned fruits are processed in sugar for enhancing the sweet taste.

This adds associated health problems like obesity, diabetes, increase in unhealthy lipids and increased heart problems.

Recent studies have shown that one eating more vegetables and fruits is likely to live longer and remain healthier as compared to one taking fewer vegetables. Those taking frozen vegetables and fruits have increased risk of dying as compared to those using fresh vegetables and fruits.

When chemicals are added as preservatives, emulsifying or flavouring agents, one prone to asthma or eczema or allergic conditions can have aggravation of the problem after use of frozen fruits. Repeated use of a microwave to heat the frozen fruits and vegetables carries the risk of being exposed to very small doses of radiation repeatedly. Though radiation hazards of microwave are controversial, still, food heated in a microwave is not as natural and healthy as fresh as vegetables, fruits or freshly cooked food.

Therefore it is better to have fresh vegetables and fruits, either raw or freshly cooked. Frozen foods should be considered as second best choice. Maybe what is available locally can be consumed fresh, while those which do not grow locally can be used in frozen form. It is better to check the nutrient present on the product before consuming it. Essential vitamins and minerals should be present.

Dr. Rachna is a specialist in internal medicine at Ruhengeri Hospital.