Research that exposes the illusion of “freshness” in supermarkets: frozen vegetables are more nutritious

Frozen fruits and vegetables have always been considered much less nutritious than fresh fruits and vegetables, even when fresh fruits and vegetables are not available. However, scientific research is overturning this underlying concept. Frozen foods are sometimes recognized by nutritionists as first-rate nutritional options, and the price also fits most people’s budget. The difference with fresh foods is less than everyone thinks. In some aspects of nutritional content, frozen foods are even better. Frozen peas are one of those examples of why the concept of “fresh is always best” should be re-examined.

Yahoo Health reports that fresh vegetables in supermarkets are often picked before they are fully ripe, and their nutrients are slowly destroyed during transportation and storage. Fresh vegetables will gradually lose nutrients due to exposure to air, sunlight and high temperatures. After fresh vegetables have been stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, they may contain less nutrients than freshly boiled frozen vegetables.

Frozen vegetables are usually harvested when they are optimally ripe and frozen within a few hours, allowing nutrients to be stored more effectively. This time is important for peas. After peas are harvested, they begin to convert natural sugars into starch, so quick freezing preserves their flavor and nutrients, and enriches them with all the protein, dietary fiber and other nutrients found in fresh peas.

A paper published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry by the University of California, Davis reports that the amount of vitamin E in frozen peas is more than double that of refrigerated fresh peas in the same batch of peas. Vitamin E, vitamin C and most minerals remain stable or increase during frozen storage, but the amount of beta-carotene decreases rapidly. The longer it remains stored, the greater the deficiency. So, frozen peas aren’t perfect, but they perform pretty well for most key nutrients.

The research team found that, overall, fresh vegetables and frozen vegetables had similar vitamin content, with some frozen vegetables having higher amounts of vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin B2. Beta-carotene was the only nutrient found in low amounts in some samples of frozen vegetables. Another study found that the difference in folate content between frozen and fresh vegetables was minimal, even after being frozen for several months.

Additionally, studies have shown that people who eat frozen vegetables have higher vegetable intake and better diet quality than people who only eat fresh vegetables. Convenience plays an important role here. When vegetables are easy to get and convenient to cook, people will eat more.

When factors such as purchasing cost and cooking time are taken into account, canned and frozen vegetables are much cheaper than fresh vegetables, which is not a trivial matter but a deciding factor for many families.

Frozen vegetables may retain nutrients and antioxidants, but these components of fresh vegetables will degrade over time; Nutritionists generally view frozen and fresh vegetables not as opposites, but as complements to each other, each with their own benefits.

In some cases, frozen vegetables have slightly higher vitamin concentrations than fresh vegetables, and vice versa. The best approach is to include a variety of frozen and fresh vegetables in your diet, but in the case of peas, frozen peas are a well-researched and unanimously recommended option by the nutrition community.