Canned Or Fresh, Which Is Best?

Can you get healthy food from a can?

When you calculate cost, waste, availability and nutrition there is a scale on which to measure the value of canned versus fresh foods.

The conclusion: when price, waste and preparation time were factored in, canned foods won out as the most convenient and affordable source of nutrients. For instance, canned pinto beans cost $1 less per serving as a source of protein and fiber than dried beans. That’s because it takes about six minutes to prepare a can of pinto beans, compared to 2½ hours for dried beans, after soaking and cooking. (The researchers calculated meal prep and cooking time at $7.25 an hour, the minimum wage in New Jersey where the research was conducted.)

“While all forms of the foods — canned, frozen, fresh and dried — were nutritious, when you added the cost of the inedible portions and the cost of the time to prepare to the price, in most cases the canned versions delivered nutrients at a lower total cost.”

Food Just Isn’t as Good as It Used to Be

The use of fertilizers and pesticides has created food which has become void of nutrient value.

Getting the daily recommended vitamins and nutrients is becoming more difficult even for the most conscientious eater.

Since the industrial and agricultural revolution we have seen factory farming takeoff and is now used to grow most of our fresh fruits and vegetables. These intensive farming methods rely on heavy use of potent herbicides and pesticides. Unfortunately, over time these chemicals have sterilised our top soils and neutralized many of the naturally occurring minerals.

Although organic farming does not use harmful chemicals, organic fruits and vegetables may still be grown in the same depleted soils and the organic ‘seal’ is not necessarily a guarantee of high mineral content.

Daily supplements may be one way to get the vitamins and minerals which are not abundant in foods.

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