The European market is among the largest importing regions of canned fruits and vegetables. It shares over 70% of the world’s total imports, and every year the value increase by an average of 2.4%. This fact proves that worldwide, people are choosing more canned fruits over fresh produce, and there needs to be an awareness that canned foods are not as great for your health as they claim.
In this modern era, where everything has been replicated such as China making their imitation Sun, the world has now transformed into an unconventional store. Even the utility of nature has been pulled apart from foods. Grocery stores’ shelves have now been filled with substitute packaged foods that are frozen, stored, or processed with different preservatives.
How many of you can remember how good fresh blueberries taste? I bet not everyone can; because some of us have never eaten fresh blueberries, we either opt for frozen blueberries or blueberry processed foods such as jams, syrups, etc.
The main issue is that we are dragged away from the nature and cannot benefit from its rewards. The taste, the smell, and let’s not forget the health benefits fresh produce contains.
In 2017, the agricultural statistics were measured in Europe to grow fruits and vegetables. Around 3.4 million hectares were dedicated to growing fruit, and 2.2 million hectares were used to grow vegetables.
Eating a meal full of fruits and veggies will provide your body with plenty of vitamins and minerals. They are packed with vitamins A, K, B group, C, E, and minerals such as magnesium, manganese, zinc, calcium, and phosphorous. Of all which we need daily to stay in optimal health.
The things we eat decide what we look and feel like, both inside and outside the body. Keeping your diet-induced with fresh fruits and vegetables will always add points to your health. However, if we jump to replacements such as frozen canned, and processed fruits and veggies, there are chances that we might be inviting unwanted health conditions.
Let us discuss the details of why your fruits and vegetables should always be fresh.
The nutrient content is top-notch when you buy fruits and vegetables from European markets. They have had their time under the soil and gained a lot of sun exposure through which they will be full of antioxidants. Sometimes, some fruits and veggies are picked up before they are fully ripe and entirely ripped when delivered to the stores/farmer’s market/fruit stalls. They are fresher, cleaner, crunchier, fragrant, juicer, and even tastier.
For example, the tomato soup made from fresh summer heirloom tomatoes makes all other canned tomato soups taste inferior. Another example can be frozen Brussel sprouts. Once steamed or defrosted, they become mushy and lose their crunchy and light flavor. You no longer can add them to a salad for freshness.
On the other hand, fruits and vegetables begin to lose their nutritional value over time. Moreover, when picking up fruits and veggies from grocery stores, you don’t know how long they have been sitting on that shelf, which bacteria or pathogens may have hit them in between all this time. Also, the canned veggies are super high in salt(sodium), can be dangerous for hypertension and heart patients, and canned fruits can be packed with added sugar, which is hazardous for diabetic, obese, and cardiac patients.
Furthermore, shelf foods start to lose their original fresh taste; there are chances of not pointing out the difference at first. But, once you eat a fresh cucumber and a cucumber from 2 or 3 days ago, you’ll be able to pinpoint which one is fresher. Moreover, the stored foods drastically change their taste when cooked and may leave your meals seeming a little off.
A Nutritional comparison in 2007 was made between fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables. The study demonstrated that Frozen products lose some nutrients initially during the short heating time in blanching and during storage owing to oxidation.
No matter how convenient canned foods sound on the Tv ads, it would be best if you always opted for fresh produce. As in the long run, they are the ones that are going to take more care of our organs.
There’s also a misconception that fresh produce is heavy on the pocket. Well, I don’t think so!. It’s a basic economy rule that when in season, there’s an abundance of a product, such as oranges in winters. They are sold at a way lower price than in other seasons. Look for seasonal fruits and veggies; their prices go down a lot as all the farmers got to sell their produce at all costs.
How to find fresh produce? Well, in Europe, you can always find fresh produce in any farmer’s market. There are numerous farmers’ markets available on every other street. Such markets provide you with an opportunity to pick out fresh produce by yourself.
Moreover, you can plant your fruits and vegetables if you have enough area. Gardening can also be a fun habit to pass your time and stay physically healthy. In a study, Food and Drug Administration estimated that around 48 million people were sickened by eating food that was contaminated with harmful germs. So, its better if you plant your produce at home or at least try your best to find the freshest produce available.
