How healthy are canned foods?

If I was on a Desert Island. If I was on a desert island and all I had was canned fruit and vegetables, I'd eat 'em. Of course, I'd need a can opener. I am a fresh girl. My food gotta be fresh, organic too. Cooked food is cooked food. Canned food is cooked.

Interesting. I would have to say that doesn't really make sense to me, but if it's true then I'm happy because my kids eat a lot of canned green beans. (I put them into boxed mac-and-cheese to up the nutrition!) I have to believe that food fresh from the ground is best.

A surprising find. I'm going to read up on this-it seems really strange that researchers said that canned veggie are better than fresh. Not that canned is all that bad, though. If you can't get the fresh produce when you really are craving something or need it for a recipe, it's not bad to turn to the can. Same goes for soups and such in a can-they are usually pretty low in fat and calories, but higher in sodium, I believe. If you can do it, it's much better, and even tastier, to prepare soup with fresh ingredients.

Buy Organic and local where possible!. Of course canned foods are not better than fresh..that is ridiculous. Unless of course you vegetables have traveled 3000 miles to get to you, have been sprayed with thousands of chemicals to grow and preserve them, and then have sat in a dark room waiting to be sold. In this case I can believe that canned may be better. Buy local and organic and nothing can beat fresh!

Less expensive, and yes, sometimes they are better. 2. I was also surprised by the study so I did some research. What is being said about fresh food is that if it is not locally grown, then it usually travels a long distance and then sits on the store shelves waiting for us to pick it up. This time lag between the fresh produce being picked off the tree and reaching our dining table leads to a loss of nutrients. However, canned food is immediately preserved after being picked, so it apparently retains more nutrients. This does seem to have some logic. Moreover, cost-wise, canned is usually cheaper, so you can have more veggies for the same price.

Local and organic - save the nutrients and the environment. I was confused about the findings until I read Swati's response. It seems we can still eat fresh veggies by buying organic, local produce. A great way to support local farmers and help the environment (cuts down on travel distance).

By law, food labels must be truthful. But manufactures can pick and choose which facts to highlight and spin. As a consumer, your best option is to disregard the claims on the front of the package because, while they may be true, it may not tell you the whole story.

Check out most popular food package claims used by food manufacturers—and what they really mean for you and your health.

Ask yourself, "Does this food company have my health in mind?" The more processed a food is, the less reliable the claims on its package become.

More on eating healthy and food labeling loopholes...

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