Is fresh food better than canned food?
Canned Foods
Is fresh food better than canned food?
Findings shows that canned foods are just as Nutritional to fresh foods
The
current trend is pushing fresh, organic foods for nutrition and health,
but truth been told, fresh vegetables are not necessarily more nutritious
than canned. A 1997 study found that canned fruits and vegetables provide as much
dietary fiber and vitamins as the same corresponding fresh foods, and in
some cases, even more. For example, canned pumpkin provides 540% of the
Recommended Daily Intake of vitamin A, while fresh pumpkin only
provides only 26%.
Fresh foods begin losing vitamins as soon as they are picked, and often sit in warehouses or in transit for as long as two weeks before they find their way into the market to sit even longer waiting to be purchased.
Fresh fruits and some vegetables are harvested before they are even ripe, and depend upon time and other means to reach the ripened state. Canned foods are harvested at their peak of ripeness and normally cooked and processed from the source within hours, thus preserving more vitamins than their fresh counterparts.
Over 1,500 food products are available in a canned state, lending convenience and diversity to those with a busy lifestyle. The sodium content in commercially-canned foods has been significantly reduced, up to 40% over old canning methods.
Most canned foods are also now available in low-salt, no-salt, low-sugar, and no-sugar preparations for those with special dietary needs and/or those who want a more natural flavor.
Canned Foods and Your Health
Canned foods high in vitamin A and related carotenes, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin, protect the the body's cells and improve night vision.
Canned tomatoes have high levels of lycopene, which studies show to help prevent prostate cancer. In fact, there are indicators showing lycopene is even more effective when derived from canned or heated tomatoes rather than fresh.
Canned salmon is higher in calcium than fresh or frozen salmon.
Research indicates the heating process used to can foods actually makes fiber more soluble and easier for the body to use. Nearly all canned fruits and vegetables are fat-free.
Contrary to popular belief, canned fruits and vegetables use no chemical preservatives, but are preserved via natural heat methods.
Vitamin contents of canned foods may be even higher than the label indicates. Manufacturers are only required to put the minimums on the label. Some canned carrots provide as much as 300% of the Recommended Daily Intake for vitamin A.
Canning is a common method that has been used for centuries to preserve foods.The canning process alters the chemical make-up of foods by changing the pH, Salinity, or moisture levels to protect against microbes, such as bacteria, mold and yeast. It limit the activity of food enzymes, which also contribute to decomposition.
These chemical modifications, combined with physical barriers such as cans, seals and lids, are an effective defense against decay. However, the canning process, has its limitations. Canning reduces the Nutrient value of foods. It also requires a significant investment of time and equipment, and inadequate processing or poor sanitation can result in a deadly contamination.
The canning process often requires cooking the food you want to preserve, cooking stop the natural enzymatic action in fruits and vegetables that helps them to ripen in the first place. If the enzymes are not stopped, or denatured, the food will over ripen and become spoiled. Cooking raw fruits and vegetables to prepare them for the canning processes is often done by blanching a quick 3-5 minutes dunk in boiling water. Fruits and vegetables are rich in minerals and water soluble vitamins that leech from the foods during blanching; essentially, leaving much of the benefits of these foods behind in the boiling water bath.
Further losses of nutrients, including fat-soluble vitamins, occur during the heating step of the canning process and through out there long shelf lives. Canned foods and vegetables have about 35% of the vitamins and minerals.
Many canned foods contained high levels of sodium. The salt helps preserve the foods, but can elevate blood pressure, cause you to retain water and increase calcium loss. Sodium is not always obvious. Even if the label does not indicate "salt" as an ingredient, it is still possible for the product to be high in sodium. Other forms of sodium added to canned foods includes mono-sodium glutamate, sodium citrate, and onion salt.
Canned goods are considered a good portion if you are buying fruits or vegetables that are not in a season but canned fruits often contains heavy syrups. The added sugar makes the fruits more palatable and more desert-like. It also increases the calories and carbohydrate counts of the final product. One way to avoid this is to choose fruits canned in water or in their own juice.
Some fruits and vegetables are less nutritious when canned. Removing the peel of a fruit or vegetable reduces its fibre content. Therefore, since this is a common practice in canned foods, you will miss some important nutrients if you choose canned foods over fresh fruits. Vitamin C also is destroyed during the cooking and canning process. Other nutrients including, Vitamin A, Potassium, and Lycopene survive the canning process well.
Many fruits and vegetables simply do not take well to being canned. Some fruits can be put into cans, but are not very popular because they simply do not taste as good as they are when fresh. Finding canned broccoli, bananas, apples, or potatoes is difficult, if not impossible. If you want a variety of fruits and vegetables, fresh or frozen offer more varieties.
Canning requires a good deal of equipment, from glass jars to hold food to the sturdy kettles to heat-seal the goods. Some other special equipment may be required if you are planning to do pressure canning or to preserve meats and fish. The good news is that most of the equipment can be reused, though the upfront costs can be intimidating to a novice. If you are not canning your own produce, you will also have to factor in the cost of fresh food.
Perhaps the biggest demerit to canning food is the potential for contamination. Proper techniques based on the acidity of the fruits and vegetables to be canned must be strictly adhered to in order to prevent contamination from yeast, mold or bacterial spores such as clostridium botulinum, a soil dwelling bacterium that creates a neurotoxin-causing botulism that can lead to death. Thorough cleansing of fruits and vegetables to rid them of soil, as well as careful selection of fresh produce, is imperative.
Canned tomatoes have high levels of lycopene, which studies show to help prevent prostate cancer. In fact, there are indicators showing lycopene is even more effective when derived from canned or heated tomatoes rather than fresh.
Canned salmon is higher in calcium than fresh or frozen salmon.
Research indicates the heating process used to can foods actually makes fiber more soluble and easier for the body to use. Nearly all canned fruits and vegetables are fat-free.
Contrary to popular belief, canned fruits and vegetables use no chemical preservatives, but are preserved via natural heat methods.
Vitamin contents of canned foods may be even higher than the label indicates. Manufacturers are only required to put the minimums on the label. Some canned carrots provide as much as 300% of the Recommended Daily Intake for vitamin A.
Canning is a common method that has been used for centuries to preserve foods.The canning process alters the chemical make-up of foods by changing the pH, Salinity, or moisture levels to protect against microbes, such as bacteria, mold and yeast. It limit the activity of food enzymes, which also contribute to decomposition.
These chemical modifications, combined with physical barriers such as cans, seals and lids, are an effective defense against decay. However, the canning process, has its limitations. Canning reduces the Nutrient value of foods. It also requires a significant investment of time and equipment, and inadequate processing or poor sanitation can result in a deadly contamination.
The canning process often requires cooking the food you want to preserve, cooking stop the natural enzymatic action in fruits and vegetables that helps them to ripen in the first place. If the enzymes are not stopped, or denatured, the food will over ripen and become spoiled. Cooking raw fruits and vegetables to prepare them for the canning processes is often done by blanching a quick 3-5 minutes dunk in boiling water. Fruits and vegetables are rich in minerals and water soluble vitamins that leech from the foods during blanching; essentially, leaving much of the benefits of these foods behind in the boiling water bath.
Further losses of nutrients, including fat-soluble vitamins, occur during the heating step of the canning process and through out there long shelf lives. Canned foods and vegetables have about 35% of the vitamins and minerals.
Many canned foods contained high levels of sodium. The salt helps preserve the foods, but can elevate blood pressure, cause you to retain water and increase calcium loss. Sodium is not always obvious. Even if the label does not indicate "salt" as an ingredient, it is still possible for the product to be high in sodium. Other forms of sodium added to canned foods includes mono-sodium glutamate, sodium citrate, and onion salt.
Canned goods are considered a good portion if you are buying fruits or vegetables that are not in a season but canned fruits often contains heavy syrups. The added sugar makes the fruits more palatable and more desert-like. It also increases the calories and carbohydrate counts of the final product. One way to avoid this is to choose fruits canned in water or in their own juice.
Some fruits and vegetables are less nutritious when canned. Removing the peel of a fruit or vegetable reduces its fibre content. Therefore, since this is a common practice in canned foods, you will miss some important nutrients if you choose canned foods over fresh fruits. Vitamin C also is destroyed during the cooking and canning process. Other nutrients including, Vitamin A, Potassium, and Lycopene survive the canning process well.
Many fruits and vegetables simply do not take well to being canned. Some fruits can be put into cans, but are not very popular because they simply do not taste as good as they are when fresh. Finding canned broccoli, bananas, apples, or potatoes is difficult, if not impossible. If you want a variety of fruits and vegetables, fresh or frozen offer more varieties.
Canning requires a good deal of equipment, from glass jars to hold food to the sturdy kettles to heat-seal the goods. Some other special equipment may be required if you are planning to do pressure canning or to preserve meats and fish. The good news is that most of the equipment can be reused, though the upfront costs can be intimidating to a novice. If you are not canning your own produce, you will also have to factor in the cost of fresh food.
Perhaps the biggest demerit to canning food is the potential for contamination. Proper techniques based on the acidity of the fruits and vegetables to be canned must be strictly adhered to in order to prevent contamination from yeast, mold or bacterial spores such as clostridium botulinum, a soil dwelling bacterium that creates a neurotoxin-causing botulism that can lead to death. Thorough cleansing of fruits and vegetables to rid them of soil, as well as careful selection of fresh produce, is imperative.
Fresh foods begin losing vitamins, as soon, as they are picked-up. And, it often, kept in ware-houses or in transit for as long, as two weeks, before they find their way into the market. Before purchasing, I come to know through your article regarding this valuable information. So, thanks for sharing this information with us.
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