Nutrition's best kept secret is frozen food: here's why

Nutrition's best kept secret is frozen food: here's why

Tuesday, May 10, 2016 by: Sarah Landers




(NaturalNews) As a general rule, we are told that eating fresh food is best when you're trying to stay fit and healthy. Prioritizing local, seasonal food is a great way to incorporate those fresh foods into your diet, and whilst that is still sound advice, it seems that frozen food is not as bad for our health as once believed.

According to the Daily Mail, a lecturer on appetite and obesity at Liverpool University in the UK has stated that frozen food actually locks in nutrition – and is something that should be embraced rather than avoided. Whilst frozen food definitely has a bad reputation – with one in three Britons believing that it is inferior to fresh food – frozen food may actually be something we need to eat more of.

Frozen food's bad rep

As reported by the Frozen Food Foundation, humans have been freezing food for thousands of years as a way to safely preserve food that can't be consumed immediately. But it wasn't until the 1920s that Clarence Birdseye embraced the preserving power of frozen food and developed the double-belt freezer, which recreated nature's freezing process without the limitations of seasonal changes.

Birdseye first brought frozen foods onto the shelves of grocery stores in 1930 and the frozen food industry was born. There have been several ups and downs for the industry, but it seems that frozen food might not actually deserve its bad reputation. Emma Boyland lectures on appetite and obesity at Liverpool University, and also writes for a popular academic magazine called The Conversation. Boyland suggests that there is a certain element of snobbery in her article entitled, 'Let's stop with the frozen food snobbery', as reported by The Conversation.

Frozen food is actually marketed for its convenience, with brands such as Iceland embracing the image of the busy working Mother who doesn't have time to prepare freshly made meals for her children – along with the slogan 'that's why Mums go to Iceland'. However, this in itself might be contributing towards frozen food's bad image – with it being viewed as a last resort rather than a good first option.

Frozen food is normally also cheaper to buy than fresh produce because it costs less to produce, but this impacts the customer's perception of its quality; according to the Daily Mail, four out of five U.S. consumers believe that frozen food is 'highly processed.'

Benefits of frozen food

Studies have shown that freezing food is a great way to lock in its nutrients – particularly with fruits and vegetables. It seems that the amount of antioxidants and other nutrients in fresh produce decreases over a matter of days in a refrigerator – but not when stored at -20 degrees Celsius, according to the Daily Mail.

Antioxidants are found in various fruits and superfoods such as blueberries, and they are crucial for your health – protecting your heart and blood pressure, and even working to prevent cancer. So making sure your food retains its high concentrations of antioxidants is a great way to maximize your intake and protect your health. Frozen fruit and vegetables also count towards your recommended daily intake in the same way that fresh fruits and vegetables do.

Frozen food can also help those suffering from obesity to control their portion sizes – if you put that excess food in the freezer for another day you'll be less tempted to go back to it later on for a snack. This is also a lot better for your pocket as you can stretch out your weekly shop or make a batch of your favorite stew in bulk, freezing some for another day.

According to Positively Positive, hitting the frozen aisle is a great way to eat healthy while on a budget, because these frozen fruits and vegetables will have been 'picked at their peak so they retain much of their nutritional value.'

There are many benefits to eating frozen food, and if you're looking to eat more healthily, get more antioxidants in your diet and save some money, then the frozen food aisle should be your new best friend.