5 Worst Canned Foods You Can Buy (2 of 3)

Fruit

Although it is essential that we incorporate plenty of fruit in our diet, going the canned route might not be the best idea. First, the canning process first involves peeling, slicing and cooking the fruit, which causes it to lose a significant amount of its vitamins and minerals. In fact, some fruits lose up to 80% of the vitamin C found in their non-processed counterparts. Furthermore, canned pineapple, peaches, and fruit cocktail invariably include heavy syrup and other added sugars. As a result, this doubles the amount of carbs versus what you’d find in fresh fruit.

Vegetables canned in brine

Just as with fruit, there are a lot of potential problems if you choose canned over fresh. For one thing, the cooking and canning process can cause those veggies to lose some of their vitamins B and C. When brine is added, vegetables can lose their phenolic compounds, and as a result they can lose their flavor and some of their nutrients. This is especially true if the foods have been peeled. Let’s also remember that brine is essentially salt water, which obviously increases the sodium content. Sure, it adds a nice flavor to corn, carrots, spinach, and the like, but the whole point of eating vegetables is for the health benefits, not to increase the health risks! Always check the label, and if your goal is to store vegetables for long periods, it is better to buy the frozen variety in bags since they often don’t contain any additives at all.