Produce: fresh, frozen, canned

Of course the best vegetable or fruit is most nutritious when just picked up from the branch, vine, or dug out of soil. This is why natural health proponents insist on choosing local produce in season over transported from who knows where, harvested who know when, maybe even coming their long way from overseas.

Local brands of produce are selected rather for their taste than for their shelf life. In season, on your farmer's market, you can be sure they haven't treated with wax or sulfur for long transportation.

However, things tend to be not-so-perfect. What's next best to fresh local product in season?

Dr. Sears, author of the Zone Diet, prefers them frozen (over canned) which, he says, are "surprisingly nutritious." He explains that manufacturers pick the ripest fruits and veggies and freeze them as soon after harvesting as is possible. In this case, the looks indeed guarantees quality: vitamin, natural pigments, phytonutrients - all are preserved. You can be sure there's no salt and preservatives in your pack of frozen produce, unlike in canned ones.

However, some of the vitamins are being seriously reduced by freezing. For example, 394 % of daily value of Vitamin C in 1 cup of sliced fresh peach becomes 19 % in same amount of frozen peach. On the other hand, many vitamins and minerals content decreases only slightly so you can rely on frozen peach in getting them almost as much as from the fresh fruit. These are:

Calcium
Iron
Vitamin E
Thiamin
Riboflavin
Niacin
Folate
Vitamin
Phosphorus
Magnesium
Zinc
Copper