Chopped vegetables= zero nutrional value?

vamosporfavor
vamosporfavor Posts: 8
in Food and Nutrition
I was just told this recently, as I was chopping up so,e veggies for a salad for the next day the previous night. How much of this is true? And would the vegetables retain their nutrional value if I chop them then roast them immediately?
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Replies

  • rawhidenadz
    rawhidenadz Posts: 254 Member
    Lmfao. None of it is true.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
    Uh noo......lol
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
    Someone's teasing you, chica.
  • csuhar
    csuhar Posts: 779 Member
    If it was completly true, then, as someone who prepares his weekly meals on Sunday, I've been malnourished every week for the past seven years.

    This is the closest thing I can come to finding that argument:

    http://nutrition.about.com/od/askyournutritionist/f/cutveg.htm

    But even according to this, you'd need to be looking at a fairly lenghty time span. It's not like poking a hole in a water baloon and everything drains out immediately. By the time the nutritional value drops enough, you're likely talking about spoiled food, anyway. So feel free to chop as you see fit.
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
    Unless you're using a magical nutrient absorbing knife, you're fine.
  • echofm1
    echofm1 Posts: 471 Member
    Yes, cut fruits and veggies loses some nutritional value because of changes when exposed to oxygen. However, it's insignificant. The real key is not to leave them sitting around too long while cut. Fruit can lose 10-25% of its vitamin C after being in the fridge (cut) 5-6 days. Just use your produce within a couple days of cutting it. It won't be a problem.
  • vamosporfavor
    vamosporfavor Posts: 8
    Yes, cut fruits and veggies loses some nutritional value because of changes when exposed to oxygen. However, it's insignificant. The real key is not to leave them sitting around too long while cut. Fruit can lose 10-25% of its vitamin C after being in the fridge (cut) 5-6 days. Just use your produce within a couple days of cutting it. It won't be a problem.

    Thank you. I figured if that was true it wouldn't be like omg no nutrition in the veggies it's been exposed to air. I usually do keep the chopped veggies in the fridge no more than 3 days anyway :-)
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I was just told this recently, as I was chopping up so,e veggies for a salad for the next day the previous night. How much of this is true? And would the vegetables retain their nutrional value if I chop them then roast them immediately?

    Are you sure they didn't mean no caloric value?? Some people don't track salad veggies (only track starchy veg). But the nutrition, as in vitamins and minerals, do not leak out when you cut vegetables.

    As to roasting them, some nutrients are lost during cooking. But, some other nutrients are enhanced by cooking. For example, tomatoes lose their vitamin C to cooking, but our bodies absorb more of the healthy antioxidant lycopene found in tomatoes when they are cooked.

    Eat a variety of both cooked and raw vegetables to get the best nutritional package.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    I was just told this recently, as I was chopping up so,e veggies for a salad for the next day the previous night. How much of this is true? And would the vegetables retain their nutrional value if I chop them then roast them immediately?

    The roasting destroys a tiny bit of the vegetable's nutrients, but it is negligible. I make sure that the vegetables I eat are as fresh as possible, which for me means that I east seasonally and produce from as close to where I live. In the US the average vegetable from the super market travels around 1200 miles. If one considers that vegetables start losing nutrition hours after harvest we can only imagine how much is left in a three week old carrot or lettuce. Chopping does nothing harmful to veggies if we consume them asap after. Storing chopped vegetables for days on time falls under the same oxidation process as most other vegetables, except that in chopped salad it is more obvious, because the edges oxidize faster and turn brown....the same is true for juice....it starts to oxidize after 15 minutes and loses it's benefits much faster than hand chopping of fruit or veggies does.
    It is highly recommendble to eat produce from local farm stands and co-ops, or in winter when that is impossible the best choice is frozen vegetable because by law they are frozen within 24 hours of harvest, so they are healthier than most people think....and guess what, they pretty much are all chopped ! The person who told you was plain wrong.....
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
    Yes, cut fruits and veggies loses some nutritional value because of changes when exposed to oxygen. However, it's insignificant. The real key is not to leave them sitting around too long while cut. Fruit can lose 10-25% of its vitamin C after being in the fridge (cut) 5-6 days. Just use your produce within a couple days of cutting it. It won't be a problem.

    Thank you. I figured if that was true it wouldn't be like omg no nutrition in the veggies it's been exposed to air. I usually do keep the chopped veggies in the fridge no more than 3 days anyway :-)
    Ya know I don't think I even knew this myself! OP...glad you asked, for those of us that didn't realize cut veggies begin to lose their nutrition are now educated on the subject. :happy:

    To the responder above, thank you!:flowerforyou:
  • SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish
    SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish Posts: 831 Member
    Yes, cut fruits and veggies loses some nutritional value because of changes when exposed to oxygen. However, it's insignificant. The real key is not to leave them sitting around too long while cut. Fruit can lose 10-25% of its vitamin C after being in the fridge (cut) 5-6 days. Just use your produce within a couple days of cutting it. It won't be a problem.

    ^^ that, so don't worry unless you keep them cut and exposed to air for a long time...and then it will probably just rot and you'll have to cut some more before you'd get close to losing "most" of it. That being said, cooking also can reduce some vitamins, again mostly a small amount (5-10%), more with nutrients like vit c and folate. While it is best to eat them as fresh and raw as possible for taste, oxidation and enzymes, just add a bit more veggies in your serving if you are worried when you cut and cook them and dont leave them cut or cooking for extended periods.
  • Alex
    Alex Posts: 10,149 MFP Staff
    I have removed much of this thread as this topic wasn't posted in Chit-Chat and way too many of the replies were mocking the question or headed down inappropriate paths. I am not locking the topic as there have been some serious and helpful replies and leaving open for those who want to discuss how food prep and cooking does or doesn't impact nutritional value.

    Thanks for your understanding that when people post questions, regardless if they are basic or seem obvious to you, we should aim to offer helpful responses or to move along without posting.
  • heylee1969
    heylee1969 Posts: 2
    I'm following a very successful nutrition program at the gym and they actually advise preparing your meals for a whole week ahead of time so that you are prepared with healthy options every time huger strikes. So No, chopping veggies the night before will Not make them nutrient deficient.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Any downsides would be far and away outweighed by the advantages of eating more vegetables. Whatever it takes to get them in, do that! If I can fit fried or cheese-sauced vegetables into my macros, I do that. Vegetables = awesome.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    *blink blink*
  • toffee322
    toffee322 Posts: 186 Member
    i think some vegetables do. like tomatoes and avocados... but i woudn't be too concerned about that. it's still better than no veggies at all.
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    I was just told this recently, as I was chopping up so,e veggies for a salad for the next day the previous night. How much of this is true? And would the vegetables retain their nutrional value if I chop them then roast them immediately?
    LOl wut?

    a lb of veggies sliced vs a lb chopped is still the same thing....
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    I'm following a very successful nutrition program at the gym and they actually advise preparing your meals for a whole week ahead of time so that you are prepared with healthy options every time huger strikes. So No, chopping veggies the night before will Not make them nutrient deficient.

    gross
    I would not keep food in my fridge for a whole week that I prepared.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I'm following a very successful nutrition program at the gym and they actually advise preparing your meals for a whole week ahead of time so that you are prepared with healthy options every time huger strikes. So No, chopping veggies the night before will Not make them nutrient deficient.

    gross
    I would not keep food in my fridge for a whole week that I prepared.

    Many foods will keep for a week or more in the fridge.
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    I'm following a very successful nutrition program at the gym and they actually advise preparing your meals for a whole week ahead of time so that you are prepared with healthy options every time huger strikes. So No, chopping veggies the night before will Not make them nutrient deficient.

    gross
    I would not keep food in my fridge for a whole week that I prepared.

    Many foods will keep for a week or more in the fridge.
    never tastes the same after 2 days to me, If I had a vacuum sealer it would be different.

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