Lifestyle Nutrition Boomerang

Frozen foods and their impact on health

frozen foods vs fresh foods

Frozen foods are getting popular nowadays, and this will increase with time. With everyone being busy in their lives, frozen foods are one of the most convenient options. Though they simplify our lives but have their advantages and disadvantages. Here we will explore the nutritional value of frozen foods and their impact on health. So, let’s get started and see what frozen can offer over fresh food.

Don’t worry, we are not asking you to remove those packets from your refrigerator. 😛 They have benefits too, and we will start with them.

Benefits of frozen food over fresh food:

frozen food
  1. They provide a healthier alternative to junk food. Your busy schedule might not allow you to cook something healthy, but frozen foods make this task super-easy. Get those vegetables and start cooking.
  2. They help control portion size. To lose weight or to maintain a healthy lifestyle, one must follow a proper portion size. More or less of it can create weight-related issues. So, these frozen foods might help you control your portion size.
  3. Fruits have their nutritional benefits, and most of us ignore them because of extra preparation time. So, the frozen options are better than no fruits at all.
  4. They save time. Your busy schedule might push you to pick unhealthy options from the shelf. So, frozen food saves time and has better nutritional value.
  5. Frozen foods are affordable and help avoid food wastage. You can prepare them as you like. 

Disadvantages of frozen food:

  1. Calorie content: The fat content in frozen food is high and has twice the calories of protein or carbohydrates. So this makes them calorie dense, which can further make it challenging to maintain a calorie count.
  2. Diabetes Risk: The starch-based coating is used to increase the shelf life and preserve the quality of frozen food. Starch can increase the blood sugar level, thus increasing the risk of diabetes. 
  3. Risk of heart diseases: Trans fats make you prone to heart disease and are often responsible for clogged arteries, which are present in frozen food. The fat raises bad cholesterol (LDL) in the body and lowers the good cholesterol (HDL). Also, their high sodium content increases the cholesterol level in the body. These conditions thus augment the risk of heart disease.
  4. Nutritional value decreases: No frozen food can be as good as fresh food. Frozen pizzas, and snacks, can have almost the same nutritional values. Also, sometimes frozen food and vegetables can be nutritious. But, this depends on the methods of preservation, freezing, and cooking.
  5. High preservative content: Preservatives are added to increase the shelf life and the list includes butylated hydroxyanisole or BHA. BHA might increase the risk of cancer and is categorized as a potential endocrine disruptor by the European Union. Though freezing is a preservative method, some manufacturers might use other preservatives. Check the label before adding anything to your cart.

What can you do?

  1. Frozen foods make our tasks easy and save us from all that junk in the market. But, have disadvantages as well. So, you can limit your intake of frozen food and should avoid relying on them completely.
  2. We have written some amazing meal planning tips for you: Visit the link: Meal planning and its value and start planning your meals to avoid over-consumption of frozen foods. 
  3. Nutritional labels can be beneficial, as they allow you to scan things before you consume them. Make sure you read them properly and look for the red flags before bringing them to your plates. Here’s our guide to nutritional labels.
  4. Don’t run behind the front claims, as they can fool you. Front claims like no preservatives, zero sugar, etc., are there to attract customers. Make sure you read the nutritional label content. Those fancy packets can mislead you.
  5. Prioritize your health and try consuming fresh food as much as you can. 

We are not targeting any brand here. You are free to like any brand, but know what you consume. 

Fresh food

You Might Also Like

11 Comments

  • Reply
    Ranjeeta Nath Ghai
    October 16, 2022 at 6:19 pm

    My mother always says…excess of everything is bad. So this applies to frozen food also I guess. Everything is good when utilised or consumed in moderation.

  • Reply
    Alpana Deo
    October 16, 2022 at 10:05 pm

    I completely agree with what you have mentioned in this post. i also use frozen food at times. But it is only in emergency. I also prepare few items and freeze them just in case I have to use them at later dates.

  • Reply
    Sandy N Vyjay
    October 17, 2022 at 7:50 pm

    Honestly, I have never been a big fan of frozen food. Of course, one cannot ignore the convenience factor and that is why we do have frozen food in our freezer, but given a choice, I would surely prefer fresh stuff.

  • Reply
    Khushboo
    October 17, 2022 at 10:49 pm

    I use frozen food too sometimes but I prefer fresh items anytime. Fresh products are always better and safe for our overall health.

  • Reply
    Shefali Tripathi
    October 18, 2022 at 8:12 am

    Being a doctor myself, I feel we have made ourselves dependent on frozen foods for ease. But we forget the fact that lots of nutrition gets lost in the process. Loved your article.

  • Reply
    Anjali Tripathi
    October 18, 2022 at 9:11 am

    We can’t ignore the fact that a lot of nutrition is lost in frozen foods. I, too, have used frozen foods in an emergency but have never made it a habit. Nice article.

  • Reply
    Sarita Panda
    October 18, 2022 at 9:13 am

    Usually we don’t prefer frozen foods as they are not healthy and many side effects too. But as you said we can take it in positive ways too sometimes. For me frozen foods are saviour when when any guests surprises us😅

  • Reply
    Kriti
    October 18, 2022 at 9:53 am

    Freezing food decreases its nutritional value and quality
    While it saves time in the long run it’s not good
    So instead opt for healthy alternatives

  • Reply
    Meenakshi Kaur
    October 18, 2022 at 10:08 am

    Usually I don’t prefer frozen foods as they are not healthy and many side effects too. As lots of nutrition gets lost in the process of making food frozen. But it’s true in this busy life it can be saviour for some people too or in the case of emergency or time shortage.

  • Reply
    Jeannine
    October 18, 2022 at 10:18 am

    hmm…I’m caught in between here. I think it depends on what frozen food are you talking about. If it’s all those junk, then it doesn’t even need to be specified as frozen food in the first place. Junk is junk. There’s tons of frozen food that are simply made frozen to make it last longer which is still great for your body.

  • Reply
    Aiysha khan
    October 18, 2022 at 11:46 am

    I agree with you. Everything comes with pros and cons. Where frozen food can be good it can be bad as well.
    And agreeing on the fact to that in emergency and any outrage source we can consume frozen stuffs but making it habit can be worse .

Leave a Reply