Benefits of incorporating seasonal produce into your daily nutrition | Adventist Health (2024)

FAQs

Benefits of incorporating seasonal produce into your daily nutrition | Adventist Health? ›

Food that's in season tastes better—and it's healthier.

Food that's harvested at its peak season will inevitably be fresher and tastier. Also, crops harvested in season have gotten more sun, which means more antioxidants.

Food that's in season tastes better—and it's healthier.

Food that's harvested at its peak season will inevitably be fresher and tastier. Also, crops harvested in season have gotten more sun, which means more antioxidants.

What Is Seasonal Eating? Seasonal eating encourages you to focus on in-season fruits and vegetables. This lifestyle can include eating certain fish or meat during specific parts of the year, but the focus of the diet is on fruits and vegetables because their growth depends on season-specific weather.

Eating seasonally is more sustainable.

This helps cut back not only on fuel emissions directly from the transportation process but also reduces the amount of energy needed for refrigeration during transportation and storage. Purchasing food locally also helps support local communities and farmers!

Seasonal items are products that are available for a limited time only, usually during a certain period of the year. They may relate to a holiday, special event, or a change in the climate. Examples of seasonal items include winter jackets, swimsuits, holiday decorations, and pumpkin spice lattes.

Eating fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season is more flavorful and nutritious because the fruits and vegetables are not processed or preserved. Fruits and vegetables that are out of season are usually less flavorful because once they have been harvested they begin to lose their nutritional value.

One of the primary advantages of eating seasonal fruits and vegetables is their higher nutritional value. When produce is picked at its peak ripeness and consumed shortly after, it retains more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, essential for our overall well-being.

The best choice that you can make is to buy produce that is in-season where you live. Buying this produce, whether from a supermarket or local produce shop, will have a lower impact on the planet. Here are 5 places where you can shop for local, seasonal fruits and vegetables.

What nutritional value do seasonal foods provide? ›

These fresh fruits and vegetables contain the most vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants as they were grown in the best conditions and at the right temperature. For example, one study found that broccoli grown in the fall has nearly twice the vitamin C content as broccoli grown in the spring.

The Science Behind Eating Seasonally

Both sexes reported an increase in calorie intake in winter. For the women in particular, vitamin C, iron and zinc intake was highest in spring, and cholesterol, retinol, vitamin D and niacin intake highest in autumn, suggesting different biological needs in different seasons.

An orange, for example, has a lot more vitamin C in winter than it does in spring or summer. In addition, when it is in season, it is able to provide our body with the nutrients it needs at that time of the year. For example, summer fruits have a high water content so that they can hydrate our body.

By eating local, seasonal foods you can help reduce the environmental costs associated with your food. Local produce is more likely to be ripened on the farm before being harvested and delivered. This food is fresher, tastes better and is more nutritious.

Put simply, seasonal ingredients taste better! A seasonal menu allows you to take advantage of produce in peak season, meaning that you can create mouth-watering dishes that are packed full of flavour.

After all, the ebb and flow of seasonality dictates the availability, quality, and pricing of fruits and vegetables. This cyclical nature creates distinct peaks and troughs throughout the year.

“When produce is in season, it is abundant and readily available, leading to lower production and transportation costs,” explains Smith. “As a result, the prices are often more affordable compared to out-of-season items that require importing or special growing conditions.”

Fresh Food

The answer: it is picked at peak ripeness and flavor! When you grow fruits and vegetables, you can choose your own perfect ripeness. Plus, homegrown produce does not endure rough shipping conditions to get to the shelf.