I just conducted a quick search on the nutritional benefits of canned and frozen vegetables. There are dozens of blogs, published files, and wiki articles that all redundantly examine vitamin C and B loss when you heat any vegetable or soak it/submerse it in water; vitamins C and B are water soluble. Frozen vegetables are blanched then flash frozen; canned are brined or boiled for five or so minutes and there they stay. The water then holds the C and B vitamins and we tend to pour them down the sink.
Fresh produce from your local super market, organic or not, are also not as nutritious as you think. Many veggies are picked before they are ripe (bananas, strawberries, melons, tomatoes, avocados, I only have five paragraphs) meaning they have not yet developed to their full nutritional potential. Then they are exposed to artificial light, a myriad of different temperatures, different gases from being packed together and shipped in a container, and then, finally, to your local super market. Carbohydrates are mostly stable and intact, but fat soluble nutrients, including vitamin A, E, and carotenoids (including lycopene) are sensitive to heat, light, and oxygen.
Then we cook the vegetables. Our bodies, readily equipped with enzymes, are able to access nutrients within the food we eat through the processes of digestion and absorption. I know. This is terribly elementary. Stay with me just a moment... When we cook a vegetable we reduce the nutrients within it, or dissolve the nutrients in water, or we microwave the little gems and they become of little or no value at all. In addition, the process of cooking a vegetable changes its chemical make up! All of this results in a consequent chemical reaction within our body and our enzymes do not recognize the food as the actual food it is. If our veggies are not properly broken down, they are not properly absorbed!
Learning all of this about vegetables has made my think twice about what I eat and how I fortify the goods. I am asking questions about my broccoli, am reading labels on my canned tomatoes (and rolling my eyes at the added salt), I am in the process of seeking out my local growers, and I am looking forward to planting some containers to eat. I encourage you all to dig deeper into your diets and be honest about your nutrition.
We can't make something out of nothing... if we don't put the right ingredients in, we can't make the right enzymes, proportional hormones, healthy tissues, and we can't eliminate toxins. We have ten systems to take care of with vitamins, minerals, fats, oils, and carbohydrates found within the food we eat. Canned, in the end, may not deserve as much credit as we give it~ Now, go, eat real, fresh food, wash it in with water, boost your mood with vitamins, and remember to wash your hands.
Tomorrow: collagen!
Anna
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