Are canned fruits and vegetables as nutrient dense as fresh?
Lona Sandon: Both are comparable to fresh and frozen in terms of nutrients, and they come in handy when you don’t have time to slice, dice, or peel. When you think about it, canned veggies are fresh foods already cooked. Because of their high levels of sodium, look for low-sodium veggies–or, with higher sodium varieties, drain the water in the can and rinse off the veggies. I do that with black beans and kidney beans–and then add them to a green salad, ground beef, or brown rice. The same goes for canned fruits, which have nutrient levels similar to fresh. Look for varieties packed in natural juice or light syrup rather than heavy syrup, which is high in sugar and calories. It’s wise to drain off even the natural juice and light syrup to reduce calories. CL: What role does fat play in nutrient density? O’Rourke: In general, you want to reduce fats because they have the highest number of calories compared with carbohydrates and protein. Any food with a lot of fat is going to increase
