Do Fruits and Vegetables Lose Nutrients as They Age?

Do fruits and vegetables lose

NUTRIENTS AS THEY AGE?
Fresh fruits and vegetables are incredible sources of a wide range of vitamins and minerals.

From the moment a crop is picked, plucked,
or dug up, the clock starts to tick. A fruit or vegetable
doesn’t die when it’s harvested, but continues to
take in oxygen and live for days or weeks.
However, cut off from the mother plant,
vitamins and nutrients in the fruit or vegetable
are used up from its stores, leaving fewer
nutrients for us when we finally eat the produce.
Several factors affect how quickly nutrients
are lost. Heat and light take a toll on many
vitamins, especially sunlight-sensitive B vitamins
and vitamin C, which are abundant in citrus fruits, bell
peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, and leafy greens.
Vitamins A and E are less fragile, and fiber
HEAT DAMAGE and minerals also survive well for long periods.
The amount of nutrients lost depends on the
S P IN A C H L O S E S O V E R
T W O - T H IR D S O F IT S
type of vegetable, harvesting, distribution,
F O L AT E IF L E F T AT R O O M storage, and soil conditions—poor soil means
T E M P E R AT U R E F O R produce has fewer nutrients to start with. The
J U S T F O U R DAYS . chart below shows the journey of produce
from harvesting to consumption and how
nutrient stores are depleted along the way.

P R OD UC E HA RVESTING DIS T RIBU T IO N S T O RA G E

DELICATE Delicate vegetables LOCAL FRIDGE

VEGETABLES can be bruised if
Delicate vegetables, mishandled during
such as tomatoes, harvesting, depleting
asparagus, and salad nutrient supplies as
leaves, are easily the plant goes into
damaged if handled defensive mode.
roughly, which However, they are
speeds the loss more likely to be
of nutrients. harvested by hand
than by machine.
Vegetables that are fragile retain
freshness and nutrients best if
transported short distances
shortly after harvesting.
TRANSPORTED
Delicate vegetables are
vulnerable to crushing during
transportation so are often
harvested before fully ripe.
Cuts and bruises cause cells to
break open and leach nutrients.
Most delicate vegetables should be chilled.
Low temperatures delay chemical reactions in
the cells, protecting fragile nutrients such as
vitamin C, which is high in many delicate varieties.
PANTRY OR COUNTERTOP
Herbs such as basil suffer if chilled, so they should
be kept on the countertop with access to sunlight.
Unripe tomatoes or avocados can be left on the
countertop to ripen, but transfer them to the fridge
when ripe if you’re not eating them right away.

HARDY Most commercially sold LOCAL FRIDGE

VEGETABLES root vegetables are Local distribution is optimal, Some hardy vegetables, such as carrots,
Root vegetables, harvested by machine, but less important, for hardy parsnips, turnips, and hardier greens such as
such as turnips, which increases the risk vegetables, reducing the risk of kale, are best kept at cold fridge temperatures.
carrots, and parsnips, of damage, causing the damage and helping them to
hold onto vitamins vegetables to lose hold onto their nutrient stores. PANTRY OR COUNTERTOP
and antioxidants for valuable nutrients. The flavor of some hardier vegetables
longer than delicate TRANSPORTED can be affected by the chilly fridge air.
vegetables if Hardy vegetables can be Vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes,
undamaged. scraped if handled roughly onions, and squash can be stored in a cool,
or packed tightly. Vegetables dark, well-ventilated place such as a kitchen
breathe and use up nutrients pantry or cabinet.
after picking, so long distances
deplete nutrient stores.