Raw Food: No more cans! Fresh is the way to go!

Buying food items in cans lack in nutrition and are usually loaded with salt and preservatives in today’s food markets. The process of freshness goes from fresh fruits and vegetables, to frozen foods, and down to canned foods. Last on the list, these canned items are slowly becoming a thing of the past.

When the canned foods go through the cooking process, this heating process destroys about one-third to one-half of the vitamins A and C, riboflavin and thiamin. And then the sit on the shelves as they are stored, losing an additional 5% to 20% . But the remaining vitamins only decrease their values slightly.

A lot of produce when picked for harvest will begin to lose some of its nutrients. If it is handled properly and canned quickly, it can be more than or as nutritious as fresh fruit or vegetable.  This fresh produce will lose half or more of its vitamins with the first two weeks: but if not kept chilled or preserved, the fresh vegetable or fruit will lose nearly half of its vitamins within the first few days.  The average consumer is advised to eat a variety of food types each day as compared to only one type of food.

The thing to remember is everything depends on the time between the harvesting and the canning and freeing process. Generally, the vegetables are picked immediately and taken to canning or freezing divisions when their nutrient contact is at its peak. How the food is canned affects the nutrient value also. Vegetables boiled for longer than necessary and in large amounts of water lose much of their nutritional value as compared to those only lightly steamed.

When we pick fresh vegetables or fruit at the farm, they are always more nutritious than canned or frozen – this is a fact. If you cannot buy fresh, at least buy frozen.