Bhg
  • Shop
  • News
  • Food
  • DIY
  • Garden
  • Travel
  • Renovating
  • Decorating
  • Property
  • Health
  • TV
  • Podcasts
Bhg
  • Shop
  • News
  • Food
  • DIY
  • Garden
  • Travel
  • Renovating
  • Decorating
  • Property
  • Health
  • TV
  • Podcasts
Subscribe
YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR
Watch 6:32

YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR

{headline}

{headline}

A guide to edible gardens and the foods you can grow at home

A guide to edible gardens and the foods you can grow at home

Why you should eat two fruit and five veg

Why you should eat two fruit and five veg

Just in: NEW contamination warning on these 3 fruits & vegetables

Just in: NEW contamination warning on these 3 fruits & vegetables

How to pick the freshest produce on your next grocery shop

How to pick the freshest produce on your next grocery shop

{headline}

{headline}

How to grow fruit and vegies in small spaces

How to grow fruit and vegies in small spaces

How to get your kids to eat their food

How to get your kids to eat their food

12 ways to use bruised, ugly and overripe produce

12 ways to use bruised, ugly and overripe produce

{headline}

{headline}

You'll want to make this fun festive food

You'll want to make this fun festive food

How to stir-fry

How to stir-fry

How to get more juice from your limes

How to get more juice from your limes

Colourful roast vegetables with tahini dressing

Colourful roast vegetables with tahini dressing

Horse riding for beginners

Horse riding for beginners

Lychee, mint and passionfruit Champagne cocktail

Lychee, mint and passionfruit Champagne cocktail

Our best-ever sausage roll recipes

Our best-ever sausage roll recipes

  1. Home
  2. Health

You’ve been eating fruit and veg the wrong way this whole time

According to a food scientist. - by Olivia Hart
  • 25 Sep 2020
You’ve been eating fruit and veg the wrong way this whole time
Getty

While eating fruit and vegetables every day is considered the key to a healthy lifestyle, it turns out the way you eat it is just as important.

According to a study, most Aussies aren't meeting the recommended intake of fruit and veg, and those that do are losing out on all the nutritional value by eating them wrong. 

Clinical nutritionist and food scientist Dr Vincent Candrawinata has weighed in on the topic with some new advice. 

According to him, the best way to avoid losing nutrients is to purchase, store, and eat fruit and veg in their natural state.

These are his top tips for the making the most of your next meal!

groceries veg and fruit
Getty

Don’t cut, peel, or rinse

By incorrectly prepping fruit and veg you can miss out on all the good vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E properties. The skin of fruit and veg protects these antioxidant vitamins and when cut or peeled they can decline.  

“It is also important to note that you could quite literally be pouring vitamins down the drain by rinsing your cut produce. Water-soluble vitamins, like vitamin C, are carried by water and can leak out after cutting or in water,” says Dr Vincent.

The best way to preserve the vitamins is to only cut and rinse on the day you eat them and keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

cutting tomatos
Getty

Use the right knife

According to Dr Vincent, a blunt knife can seriously affect the quality of our fruit and veg. “With a sharp knife you will decrease the risk of excessive softening, bacterial growth, off-odours and electrolyte leakage – such as calcium and potassium – in your fruits and vegetables. In order to keep various nutrients of your fruits and vegetables intact, keeping a sharp knife in your kitchen is a must,” he says.

Cut them to the right size

Though Dr Vincent strongly discourages cutting veg, he says that if it has to be done at all make sure you cut in big chunks.

“The less surface area you expose of your fruits and vegetables, the less risk of vegetables spoiling over a shorter period of time from oxygen exposure.

Discolouration, flavour and texture loss and dehydration, on top of nutrient loss, increases as the cut vegetables get progressively smaller. A general rule to follow is the more finely your fresh vegetables are chopped, the more quickly you should eat them,” he said.

veggies
Getty

Avoid pre-cut vegetables

Buying pre-cut vegetables can save you time that’s a given, but it’s a rule of thumb that fresh is always best. However, if at the end of the day prepping the veg is putting you off eating them, then pre-cut is better than nothing.

Here are Dr. Vincent's tips for maximising your nutriontial intake when shopping pre-cut.

Firstly, only buy pre-cut veg that has been refrigerated, be sure to check the dates on the packet as time is a big part of nutrient loss so grab from the back, not the front. Grab for the container with the bigger cut chunks and be sure to consume within five days. 

You may also like 

12 ways to use bruised, ugly and overripe produce

How to grow your own tomatoes

  • News
  • Food
  • Health
  • Better Life
  • Hacks

Get your mag delivered!-Save 29% off the cover price!

Subscribe for $4.95 per issue

Subscribe Now
Get your mag delivered!

Get your mag delivered!-Save 29% off the cover price!

Subscribe for $4.95 per issue

Subscribe Now
Get your mag delivered!

Recommended to you

YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR
Watch 6:32

YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR

{headline}

{headline}

A guide to edible gardens and the foods you can grow at home

A guide to edible gardens and the foods you can grow at home

Why you should eat two fruit and five veg

Why you should eat two fruit and five veg

Just in: NEW contamination warning on these 3 fruits & vegetables

Just in: NEW contamination warning on these 3 fruits & vegetables

How to pick the freshest produce on your next grocery shop

How to pick the freshest produce on your next grocery shop

{headline}

{headline}

How to grow fruit and vegies in small spaces

How to grow fruit and vegies in small spaces

How to get your kids to eat their food

How to get your kids to eat their food

12 ways to use bruised, ugly and overripe produce

12 ways to use bruised, ugly and overripe produce

{headline}

{headline}

You'll want to make this fun festive food

You'll want to make this fun festive food

How to stir-fry

How to stir-fry

How to get more juice from your limes

How to get more juice from your limes

Colourful roast vegetables with tahini dressing

Colourful roast vegetables with tahini dressing

Horse riding for beginners

Horse riding for beginners

Lychee, mint and passionfruit Champagne cocktail

Lychee, mint and passionfruit Champagne cocktail

Our best-ever sausage roll recipes

Our best-ever sausage roll recipes

Bhg
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Bhg Magazine Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Brands

  • All Recipes
  • BHG Shop
  • Girlfriend
  • Home Beautiful
  • New Idea
  • New Idea Food
  • Practical Parenting

Our Network

  • marie claire
  • Instyle
  • Beauty Crew
  • Who
  • Women's Weekly Food
  • Bounty Parents
  • That’s Life
  • Perth Now
  • The West Australian
  • 7Plus
  • Airtasker
  • 7NEWS
  • SocietyOne
  • Health Engine
  • Starts at 60
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from Better Homes and Gardens

Magazine Subscription Offer

Get your mag delivered!-Save 29% off the cover price!

Shop This Offer
Get your mag delivered!