Get more out of your fruit and vegies

28th September 2020 | Eativity editors

While buying pre-cut and packaged fruit and vegies can encourage people to eat more fresh produce, these convenience options also are reducing their nutritional value.

Dr Vincent Candrawinata, (affectionately known as Dr Vincent), a clinical nutritionist and food scientist, says you’re most likely to reap the full benefits of nutrient-dense fruit and vegies by buying, storing and eating them in their natural state. He says the easiest and best way to boost the nutrients in your diet is to avoid cutting, slicing, chopping or peeling fruit and vegies until you’re about to eat them. Or even better, eat them whole.

How to get more out of your fruit and vegies
Don’t rinse your chopped veg – you’ll be washing away nurients.

Dr Vincent’s nutrient-boosting tips

Store fruits and vegies the right way

“The nutrients that suffer the heaviest hit in cut fruits and vegetables are vitamins C, A and E,” Dr Vincent explains. “These are antioxidants. They react with oxygen, which means when the internal flesh is exposed to air, the vitamins decline. The natural coverings of fruits and vegetables offer protection to the antioxidants inside, unless broken through.”

It’s also important to know that you could quite literally be pouring vitamins down the drain by rinsing cut produce. Water-soluble vitamins, like vitamin C, are carried by water. They can leak out of produce after cutting or when running under water.

According to Dr Vincent, the most effective way to store fruit and vegies so you retain all of their goodness is to leave them unwashed with the skin or rinds intact until the day you’ll be eating them. If you need to pre-cut your produce, ensure they’re stored in an air-tight container in large pieces in the refrigerator.

How to get more out of your fruit and vegies
Chop to it: every kitchen needs a good, sharp knife.

Get a sharp knife

“While we mostly associate a blunt knife with inconvenience and annoyance, it can actually cause unnecessary and unwanted damage to our fresh produce,” Dr Vincent says.

“With a sharp knife, you decrease the risk of excessive softening, bacterial growth and electrolyte leakage – such as calcium and potassium – in your fruit and vegies. In order to keep various nutrients intact, keeping a sharp knife in your kitchen is a must.”

Eat your chopped produce as soon as you can, to get the most benefits.

Make the most of your pre-cut produce

“There’s no doubt that it can sometimes feel tedious to have to wash and chop your fresh fruits and vegetables when you’re busy,” Dr Vincent says. “This is the reason why pre-cut produce is sold in the first place.” While it’s best to not buy pre-cut produce, there are steps you can take to retain more nutrients.

1. Buy the freshest produce you can find by looking at the dates on the packaging. Time plays an important role in nutrient loss. Pro tip: pick packs from the back of the shelves. These tend to be fresher than those at the front.
2. Only buy pre-cut produce that’s been refrigerated. Low temps slow nutrient loss.
3. Eat any pre-cut vegetables within five to six days and pre-cut fruit in two to three days. Pre-cut produce can be a convenient solution, but it’s not the best for long-term storage.
4. Look for produce that’s been cut into the largest chunks. These pieces will have been affected the least by respiration.

“At the end of the day, the small difference in nutrients is completely lost if you don’t eat the fruit and vegies you buy because you couldn’t face the work that was needed – no matter how minor,” Dr Vincent says. “So, if having pre-cut fresh fruits and vegetables is what you need to make healthier choices throughout your week, that’s better than a crisper full of aspirational produce that goes to waste.”

How to get more out of your fruit and vegies
Finely chopped vegies might make a great sofrito, but they’re also likely to have lost more nutrients.

Don’t finely chop your vegetables

“Cutting your fruits and vegies is not ideal,” Dr Vincent says. “But if you need to cut them, cut them in large chunks, using a sharp knife. This is always the best plan of attack.”

Cutting raises the respiration rate of your food. This means the natural sugars in the food are being broken down and are releasing carbon dioxide.

“Put simply, the less surface area you expose on your fruits and vegetables, the less risk of them spoiling over a shorter period of time from oxygen exposure,” Dr Vincent explains.

Discolouration, flavour and texture loss and dehydration, on top of nutrient loss, increase as cut vegies get progressively smaller. Dr Vincent advises that a general rule to follow is: the more finely your fresh vegetables are chopped, the more quickly you should eat them.

“To prolong the life of your finely chopped veg – and even generate nutritional advantages – you can marinate or ferment your goods,” Dr Vincent suggests. “Making marinated salads like coleslaw or fermented dishes like sauerkraut are examples of ways you can eliminate the risk of dehydration and balance acid levels in your finely chopped fresh produce.”

How to get more out of your fruit and vegies
Brighten up your life – and your health – with more fresh Aussie produce.

Give yourself a boost

If you can’t get enough fresh fruit and vegies in your daily diet, you can give your body a boost with phenolic antioxidants. Dr Vincent also happens to be the world’s foremost expert on phenolic antioxidants and the founder of Renovatio. This is a range of health and wellness products made by extracting phenolics from Australian apples and activating them to produce turbocharged powders, tablets and creams.

“Activated phenolics are powerful antioxidants,” Dr Vincent explains. “They neutralise a wide range of free radicals to protect our body’s cells from infection and inflammation. It’s common for our diet not to deliver our body with all the micronutrients and antioxidants it needs. Supplements can be the answer and have beneficial effects on your overall health.”

Renovatio Bioscience products are available Australia-wide at Woolworths, selected pharmacists and health food stores and online.