The answer to the question of whether the most nutritious vegetables are fresh, frozen, or canned, is: (drumroll to heighten the suspense) “It depends on the vegetable.” It turns out that some canned and frozen varieties actually deliver more nutrients than fresh, according to food experts including the Food and Drug Administration.
When it comes to fiber, for instance, raw, fresh vegetables are usually best if fiber is what the consumer is looking to get. The USDA Human Nutrition Center on Aging said that raw food can’t always be fully processed because of the fiber cells, and that cooking breaks down the cells and make nutrients more easily available. Cooked carrots (more beta carotene) vs. raw carrots (more fiber) is a good case in point. Another good example is the lycopene in tomatoes. According to Hunt’s Foods, people get more lycopene from cooked or processed tomatoes than raw, because heat changes the lycopene to a state that the body can more easily absorb.
In general, frozen and canned vegetables and fruits can sometimes be superior nutritionally because they are usually processed when their nutrient content is at its peak, while fresh may lose nutrients in warehouses, trucks, and on supermarket shelves, according to nutritionist Kathryn Elliott.
So what’s a dedicated, nutrition-minded veggie lover to do? The Food and Drug Administration advises mixing fresh, frozen, and canned in order to make sure you get five servings a day. “If you shop once a week or less often, buy both fresh and processed – that is, canned or frozen – fruits, vegetables and juices,” the FDA said. “Use the fresh first; save the processed items for use later.”
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