Q: Is there much difference in the nutritional value of frozen and fresh vegetables?

A: Much depends on how fresh the vegetables were to start with and how you cook them. ‘Fresh’ no longer means ‘just picked.’

 

If your fresh vegetables have sat at the markets, then at the greengrocer and then in your fridge before you prepare them, their vitamin levels will have already declined. And if you overcook them or hold them warm for more than 5 minutes, that further destroys some (not all) of the nutrients. It’s mostly the heat-sensitive vitamins – C and B group – that are affected. The content of minerals and fibre remains the same.

 

So frozen can be as good as fresh, sometimes even better as frozen vegetables are often frozen immediately after being picked whereas it may be days or even weeks before ‘fresh’ vegetables end up on your kitchen table ready to be eaten. Having said that, uncooked fresh vegetables – like a salad – are a potent source of vitamins and antioxidants and I often recommend a salad a day for just this reason.   I would also recommend choosing organic where possible for either fresh or frozen vegetables. 

Celery is a thick, light-green stalked vegetable of the parsley family.

Celery contains phytochemical compounds called 3-n-Butyl (3nB) phthalides, which not only give it its flavour but have also been shown to lower blood pressure.

 

Studies with animals have also shown that 3nB can lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the formation of the arterial plaques which can result in cardiovascular disease. In animal studies, 3nB has also been found to help prevent strokes and to enhance energy production in the brain, as well as to improve neurological function after simulation of a stroke.

 

Antioxidant celery compounds called coumarins are also the focus of much current scientific research due to their potential as anti-cancer therapies. The celery seed oil extract sedanolide has, along with 3nB, been found to inhibit tumours in lab tests. Celery is an excellent source of vitamin C, which has anti-carcinogenic properties through its role as an antioxidant and is rich in folate a vitamin required to make DNA and to prevent pre-cancerous changes to it.

 

In addition, celery is a good source of manganese, which is important for normal central nervous system and reproduction functions; fibre, which keeps your colon healthy, preventing constipation, diverticulitis and cancer, and potassium which can also help to keep blood pressure low.