ARE FRUIT AND VEGETABLES LESS NUTRITIOUS TODAY?

1 When it comes to getting enough nutrients in your diet, one thing is pretty clear: Everybody should eat different fruit and vegetables every day sufficiently. Yet according to research, fruit and vegetables are less nutritious than they used to be 50 years ago. There are a number of reasons to explain it, such as over-harvested soils and modern farming. Yet, there are still many steps you can take to ensure healthy nutrients every time you include fruit and vegetables in your diet.

2 The key to getting more nutrients is eating food that spends less time travelling from the field to your table. The way to accomplish that goal is with locally grown produce, either from your own garden or from a local farmer’s market. The experts suggest buying fresh, whole, and locally grown seasonal produce. You should to purchase produce with the least amount of time from farm to table, as vitamins and minerals are lost over time as well as with cooking and handling.

3 You always think that fresh is always better than frozen when eating fruit or vegetables. But experts say that this isn’t necessarily the case. Sometimes the veggies which are frozen immediately after harvest keep more nutrients than those ‘fresh’ veggies that have taken a long time to get to your plate.

4 Big, shiny fruit and vegetables look good and grab your attention in the supermarket, but just because they’re beautiful doesn’t mean they’re better for you. For example, organic apples may be smaller and not quite as pretty, but their pesticide* levels are likely to be lower.

5 When it's time to prepare those fruit and vegetables for eating, bigger and rougher pieces may have the nutritional edge over finely chopped and sliced options. 'Keep chopping to a minimum,' the experts advise. 'The greater the exposure of the fruit or vegetable to air, the greater the loss of nutrients.'

6 Though there are some exceptions, the less most fruit and vegetables are cooked, the more nutrients they keep. So eat your fruit and vegetables raw whenever possible. When you cook them, keep the cooking time to a minimum and avoid too much contact with water. According to the experts, cooking methods that are quick, with a minimum amount of liquid, will help to preserve nutrients. Steaming, blanching, and stir-frying are all great ways to cook vegetables quickly and keep valuable nutrients. Keep veggies crisp — never overcook or boil in water until soggy.

7 It may take a bit more effort to find fruit and vegetables as nutrient-rich as they were 50 years ago, but with more local farm groceries and seasonal choices, it is getting easier to find delicious and nutritious fruit and vegetables.

*pesticide: A substance used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to animals