Are frozen vegetables as healthy as fresh ones?

Often, yes. Cleveland Clinic says fresh is not always best, because vegetables that travel for several days lose some nutrients, while frozen ones are picked and frozen within hours of harvest.

Cleveland Clinic explains that fresh vegetables in a grocery store may have traveled a very long distance. After being picked, packed and transported over several days, they lose some of their nutrients. Frozen vegetables are picked and frozen within hours of being harvested, so they retain a lot more of their nutrition. Local produce is also a great option, the clinic adds, since something from a farmers market may have been picked that morning or the day before.

MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine's health encyclopedia, agrees that frozen and canned vegetables can still be a good choice, as long as they are frozen or canned right after harvest, when they still have all of their nutrients. It says just-picked vegetables are healthiest overall. Its tips: buy canned vegetables without added salt, and do not overcook any vegetable, fresh, frozen or canned. Lightly steam them instead of boiling them for a long time.

Consumer Reports gives frozen produce a slight edge over canned. A package of frozen vegetables typically contains just the produce, blanched or flash-frozen with no added salt, sugar or sauce. “Fruits and vegetables are packed with nutrients, and that doesn’t change when they are frozen,” says Amy Keating, a nutritionist at Consumer Reports. Canned vegetables are more often packed in brine, so check the sodium on the label.

Canned still has a place. Cleveland Clinic says you can choose lower sodium versions or rinse canned vegetables in a colander under running water. Canned tomatoes are actually healthier than raw ones, it says, because heating increases the lycopene the body can absorb. Consumer Reports adds that canning can enhance some antioxidants, such as beta-carotene in carrots and pumpkins.

Consumer Reports says both canned and frozen produce can be great options, especially when fresh produce is out of season or too expensive. Canning does lead to some nutrient loss, it reports, mostly of vitamin C, which is heat-sensitive. Other vitamins, fiber and most minerals tend to stay intact.

The same report flags canned fruit, not just vegetables. Fruit is often canned in syrup or sweetened juice that can contain high-fructose corn syrup or other added sugars, and Consumer Reports says it has seen some that pack as much as 14 grams per serving. Its advice is to look for fruit packed in 100 percent juice, and to drain and rinse vegetables like beans to cut sodium.

Cleveland Clinic, in an answer from one of its dietitians, notes that canned vegetables have a very long shelf life, and it says that if canned is what you have, use it up. It also calls local produce a cost-effective choice, not just a fresh one. And the clinic adds that the lycopene the body absorbs from canned tomatoes is good for eye health.

Talk to your doctor or a dietitian if you need to limit sodium or have other dietary restrictions.