CHRONIC. Freezing preserves the vitamins naturally contained in fresh vegetables. But the key is elsewhere. Explanations.
By Boris Hansel, with Guillaume Paret (video)
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Every Friday, find the nutrition chronicle Pr Boris Hansel, endocrinologist and nutritionist at Bichat Hospital in Paris. He is also the host of the health channel PuMS on YouTube.
Irozen fruits and vegetables are richer in vitamins than some fresh fruits and vegetables! So, should they be preferred?
The vitamins naturally contained in fresh vegetables are sensitive. As soon as they are picked, their content gradually decreases due to oxidation and cellular respiration phenomena. With transport, storage in the warehouse, on supermarket shelves and in our kitchen, several days or even weeks can pass between the picking and the plate! We end up with fruits and vegetables that often lose more than half of their content of certain vitamins.
Freezing processes usually occur very soon after picking. And important information: these processes preserve most of the vitamins contained in fruits and vegetables!
If we take the example of vitamin C, probably the most fragile in fruits and vegetables, analyzes show that frozen products contain at least as much and sometimes more than their fresh counterparts a few hours after picking. What is shown for vitamin C remains generally true for other less fragile vitamins, such as vitamin B9 or beta-carotene.
READ ALSOHow to cook your vegetables to get all the benefitsIn terms of minerals – calcium, zinc, iron and magnesium…– there is no big difference between frozen and fresh! And it’s the same for fibers, very important for our health, whether for digestion or the prevention of chronic diseases such as cancer.
Conservation, the key element
Should we at all costs eat frozen fruits and vegetables rather than fresh if there are more vitamins in frozen foods and the other benefits of fruits and vegetables are also preserved? In fact, it depends on the modes and the shelf life.
It is true that there is a significant loss of vitamin C and beta-carotene when fruits and vegetables are stored at room temperature. Losses of more than 50% are noted in some analyses. However, when they are stored in a cool place, the loss remains moderate, in any case if the products are consumed within seven days of harvest.
READ ALSOThe food guide – How to eat better
In practice :
The important thing is to eat 400 g of fruit and vegetables a day… Obviously, local, seasonal, freshly picked and quickly consumed products are the best.
But, if you cannot have access to them or if, for practical or financial reasons, frozen food is an option, there is no hesitation in having… By consuming your frozen fruits and vegetables, you are doing very well for your body and your health.