HEALTHY LIVING Can It —
Some Foods Are Healthier That Way It goes against conventional thinking, but fresh isn’t always best. ::
BY NICK TATE Y
ou’ve heard the nutritional advice so often: Eating a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables is one
of the best ways to boost your health. But are fresh foods always better? It may seem hard to believe, but a
number of studies have found certain canned foods have higher levels of key vitamins and nutrients than fresh varieties. Plus, they tend to cost less. Canned corn, for instance,
contains more disease-fi ghting antioxidants than fresh. That boost in antioxidants — agents that combat free radicals in the body that damage cells and raise the risk of heart disease and cancer — more than makes up for the loss of vitamin C from canning. Canned tomatoes, carrots, beans,
spinach, pumpkins, and other fruits and vegetables also have as much or more nutrients than fresh varieties. So, exactly how does that happen?
Turns out the heating process has
a lot to do with it. “Some fruits and vegetables are actually better when they’re heated and some are not, so it depends on what you’re talking about when you look at canned versus fresh versus frozen,” says Marisa Moore, a registered Atlanta-based dietitian and a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “For example, canned tomatoes have higher amounts of lycopene versus fresh. Canned carrots have more beta-carotene.” Dr. Cathy Kapica, a
nutrition specialist at Tufts University, put canned vegetables to the test in a recent study that compared nutrients and costs in canned, fresh, frozen, and dried varieties of common foods. The study found that “canned foods almost always off ered a
WALMART TOILET PAPER WIPES OUT THE COMPETITION
I
n the toilet paper Olympics, Walmart’s tissue emerged flush with success. Consumer Reports put 25 toilet papers through a battery of tests and Walmart’s
White Cloud 3-Ply Ultra Soft and Thick bowled over other brands in softness, strength, and value. Another high-scoring brand was Quilted Northern Ultra Plush. Toilet papers made from recycled content generally fared poorly in the competition. The magazine warns, Beware of the shrinking roll. Manufacturers are trying
to cut costs by putting less tissue on each roll and masking the shrinkage with packaging tricks and fine print doublespeak.
84 NEWSMAX MAXLIFE | AUGUST 2012 TOMATOES
more aff ordable, convenient way to get needed nutrients.” Kapica tells Newsmax: “Yes, canned foods can be better choices than fresh. Canned fruit and vegetables are picked at the peak of ripeness and packed soon after, preserving many nutrients which might be lost during transport and in stores.” Kapica says that chopping and other cooking techniques involved in the canning
PINTO BEANS
CORN
process “break up the small cell particles in foods, making their nutrients more
available for metabolism during digestion.”
Here are some canned foods that
are surprisingly healthy choices: Pinto Beans. Canned pinto beans
contain as much protein and fi ber as dried beans. Tomatoes. Levels of the antioxidant lycopene increase when tomatoes are heated during the canning process. Corn. Canned corn has higher
levels of the antioxidant lutein. Kapica said her study also found
that canned tuna, spinach, pumpkin, mushrooms, green beans, peaches, and pears are also healthy choices when compared to fresh selections, proving that sometimes, healthy ones are in the can.
CAN WITH KNIFE AND FORK/MARLENE FORD/FLICKR/GETTY IMAGES
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