Was it the naturalists or those who believe in laboratory created supplements who won the debate? You be the judge. Historically humans were meant to consume vitamins the natural way. Prior to the industrial age, fruits, vegetables, legumes and other foods were consumed immediately. They went from the farm to the table. But with the advent of refrigerators, freezers, canning, and other methods of preserving food, we now have a choice. Those choices affect the nutritional quality of the food we eat and therefore the amount of
vitamins we actually consume the natural way. First, we’ll take a look at how vitamins are stored in the body, or not. Then we will explore the best methods to preserve the integrity of the fruits and vegetables we consume.
How Your Body Stores Vitamins – or Not
Fat-soluble vitamins, with the exception of vitamin K, are not excreted readily from the human body. They are stored. The opposite is true of the water-soluble vitamins. Generally, excess amounts of these vitamins are quickly lost from the body resulting in expensive urine. The exception is the water-soluble vitamins B-6 and B-12 which are stored more readily
than vitamin C and the other B vitamins.
Due to the body’s limited ability to store a good deal of these vitamins, they need to be consumed on a daily basis. However, you should not be harmed by a periodic lapse in your daily intake, even if the lapse includes water-soluble vitamins. Vitamin deficiency becomes evident when it is not consumed and the person’s body stores are depleted. As an example, it will take an average individual 20-40 days without consuming vitamin C before the first symptoms of deficiency becomes evident.
Preservation
Significant amounts of vitamins can be lost between the time a vegetable
or fruit is picked and it is eaten. This is especially the case with the water-soluble vitamins (in particular folate, thiamin, and vitamin C) which can be destroyed with excessive cooking and incorrect storage. There are a number of factors that can destroy vitamins, including light, heat, alkalinity, cooking in water, and exposure to air. To minimize the risk of nutrient loss, it is best to eat a food soon after its harvest.
Generally, freezing the food is the best method of preservation to retain nutrients if the food is not eaten within a few days. Because frozen vegetables and fruits are usually frozen immediately after harvesting, they are as rich in nutrients as the freshly harvested ones. Additionally, vegetables are immersed quickly in boiling water (blanched) as part of the freezing process destroying those enzymes that would effectively break down the vitamins.
With summer upon us don’t forget to visit your local farmer’s market! Not only will you support local businesses, but you can enjoy vitamin rich foods. Just remember, eat or freeze within a few days — the longer they sit, the lower the vitamin content. What’s your favorite summer fresh veggie recipe?
(C) 2016 Karen Van Den Heuvel Fischer
