Oxygen Australia — January-February 2018

68 Jan/Feb 2018 oxygenmag.com.au

I

love this question! But as we

probably already know, it’s never a

simple answer, right? There are too

many variables to think about, and for

anyone in my profession, we tend to open up

Pandora’s box on a regular basis when it comes

to nutrition!

So the answer to ‘which is better: frozen or

fresh?’ will depend on these four variables:

1

THE VITAMIN, MINERAL, OR

PHYTOCHEMICAL IN QUESTION,

because each nutrient works differently

in the body and retains differently in the food

product, as well as having different reactions

and change points.

2

THE TYPE OF VEGETABLE OR

FRUIT IN QUESTION, because

its genotype of nutritional value and

Which is best:

FROZEN

or fresh?

constituent formation would differ.

3

HOW YOU COOK IT, because food

quality and value also changes during

cooking processes. Processes that expose

foods to high levels of heat, light, or oxygen

cause the greatest nutrient loss. Steaming

increases antioxidant levels in most frozen

vegetables while boiling leads to a general

loss.^1

4

THE VARIOUS STAGES OF

DISTRIBUTION AND STORAGE

OF FRESH VEGETABLES, as well

as any chemical added to enhance growth

or appearance of the vegetable or fruit

in question.

The best way that I can settle this question

once and for all is to look at what the research

says.

ROUND 1

The study: Focused on the vitamin C content

of fresh versus frozen vegetables for peas,

broccoli, carrots, beans, and spinach.

Findings: The nutrient status of vitamin C in

frozen peas and broccoli for up to 12 months

was similar to the typical market-bought

products, which retained their quality for up to

14 days in the fridge. Frozen beans, spinach,

and carrots were similar to the fresh vegetable

upon harvest and therefore superior to market

produce.^2

SCORE: FROZEN 1 – FRESH 0

The conventional wisdom usually holds

that ‘fresh is best’, but we decided to put

the question to an expert to find out which

one comes out on top in the fresh versus

frozen battle. Pitting ‘fresh’ produce in the

red corner up against ‘frozen’ in the blue,

research and clinical nutritionist

Claudette Casey Freeman has weighed

up all the data and variables and, after eight

research-intensive battle rounds, reveals

some surprising results.

BY CLAUDETTE CASEY FREEMAN