--- title: Fresh vs. Canned: Can You Get Healthy Food from a Can? description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. canonical: https://time.com/archive/7138729/fresh-vs-canned-can-you-get-healthy-food-from-a-can/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2012-04-23T10:45:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-16T10:29:52.473Z article:section: Health og:title: Fresh vs. Canned: Can You Get Healthy Food from a Can? og:description: Is fresh always best? Not according to a recent study, which found that canned foods can offer as many nutrients, but more cheaply and conveniently. Here are some especially nutritious canned goods that won't strain your wallet og:url: https://time.com/archive/7138729/fresh-vs-canned-can-you-get-healthy-food-from-a-can/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Fresh vs. Canned: Can You Get Healthy Food from a Can? twitter:description: Is fresh always best? Not according to a recent study, which found that canned foods can offer as many nutrients, but more cheaply and conveniently. Here are some especially nutritious canned goods that won't strain your wallet twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Health](/section/health/) # Fresh vs. Canned: Can You Get Healthy Food from a Can? by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Apr 23, 2012 10:45 AM UTC by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Apr 23, 2012 10:45 AM UTC ## Pinto Beans 
Nutrition experts are constantly urging Americans to eat healthier — that usually means including more fresh fruits and vegetables in our diet. But fresh foods are expensive and often difficult to obtain for many families, which is why researchers from Ketchum Global Health and Wellness asked the question, Is fresh food really always best?



"There is increasing conversation around 'fresh' foods, especially fruits and vegetables, as being more nutritious. Yet, this supposition had not been supported by evidence," says study author Cathy Kapica, who is also an adjunct professor of nutrition at Tufts University.



Given that canned foods are cheaper than fresh and usually quicker to prepare, Kapica and her team wanted to know whether they could be an equally nutritious but more affordable alternative. The researchers conducted a market-basket study comparing the total cost of getting nutrients from canned, fresh, frozen and dried varieties of common foods.



(MORE: Study: The Best and Worst Foods for Healthy Weight)



The conclusion: when price, waste and preparation time were factored in, canned foods won out as the most convenient and affordable source of nutrients. For instance, canned pinto beans cost $1 less per serving as a source of protein and fiber than dried beans. That's because it takes about six minutes to prepare a can of pinto beans, compared to 2½ hours for dried beans, after soaking and cooking. (The researchers calculated meal prep and cooking time at $7.25 an hour, the minimum wage in New Jersey where the research was conducted.)



"While all forms of the foods — canned, frozen, fresh and dried — were nutritious, when you added the cost of the inedible portions and the cost of the time to prepare to the price, in most cases the canned versions delivered nutrients at a lower total cost," says Kapica.



MORE: Salt in Fast Food Varies Greatly Between Countries asifferlin ## Tomatoes 
“Fruity vegetables” like tomatoes — a good source of dietary fiber — are also high in vitamin C, which boosts your immune system and can help fend off respiratory issues. Tomatoes and tomato products also contain an antioxidant compound called lycopene, which may help reduce the risks of cancer, heart disease and age-related blindness.



Kapica and her fellow researchers found that it is 60% more expensive to get dietary fiber from fresh tomatoes than from a can. "Not only is the price of canned tomatoes lower than fresh for the same serving size, but fresh tomatoes take longer to prepare, adding to the real cost of fresh," the researchers said in a statement.



MORE: 5 Foods To Help Fight Spring Allergies asifferlin ## Corn ![To calculate the total cost of various foods, the researchers accounted for not only the time spent cleaning, preparing and cooking each item, but also the waste that is produced. Many fresh foods — like corn, for example — require removing stems or peeling and pitting, which takes time and reduces the amount of food available. Corn has a long list of healthy components, including fiber, vitamin C and magnesium; a recent study even found that popcorn is packed with antioxidants, making the food a valuable part of any diet. When looking at purchase price alone, fresh corn is cheaper than its canned and frozen counterparts, but when the researchers factored in the cost of waste — mainly from the cob — and prep time, they found that canned corn can save families 25% in cost and is just as fibrous as the fresh variety. VIDEO: To calculate the total cost of various foods, the researchers accounted for not only the time spent cleaning, preparing and cooking each item, but also the waste that is produced. Many fresh foods — like corn, for example — require removing stems or peeling and pitting, which takes time and reduces the amount of food available.



Corn has a long list of healthy components, including fiber, vitamin C and magnesium; a recent study even found that popcorn is packed with antioxidants, making the food a valuable part of any diet. When looking at purchase price alone, fresh corn is cheaper than its canned and frozen counterparts, but when the researchers factored in the cost of waste — mainly from the cob — and prep time, they found that canned corn can save families 25% in cost and is just as fibrous as the fresh variety.



VIDEO: The Supernut: Walnuts Pack a Powerful Does of Antioxidants asifferlin ## Spinach 
Nutritionists extol leafy greens as a key part of any healthy diet. Spinach, for example, is good for muscle efficiency and is associated with lowered risks for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Spinach may have "beautifying" components as well: in 2011, researchers found that people who ate foods high in carotenoids — like spinach — had a particularly healthy and attractive glow. "If you want a healthier and more attractive skin color, you are better off eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables than lying in the sun,” said the study's author Dr. Ian Stephen of the School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus.



The good news is that you can reap the same nutritious benefits from canned spinach as you can from fresh, for less money. Kapica found that canned spinach not only has a lower per-serving cost than fresh or frozen, but it also offers a high content of vitamin C at an 85% savings.



MORE: Eat Veggies, Cheat Death asifferlin ## Tuna 
Fresh tuna is expensive and, like any fresh fish, can take time to prepare. But, according to Kapica, quick and easy canned tuna is one of the most cost-effective sources of healthy, lean protein for your diet, a crucial component that can keep you fuller longer and help you maintain a healthy weight.



"This research should assure families they are getting needed nutrition regardless of whether they choose canned, fresh, frozen or dried varieties. They can be confident in buying those foods that best meet their budgets, schedules, cooking abilities and taste preferences and still obtain important nutrients," Kapica said in the statement.



The authors say one of the key implications of their findings is that healthy foods can be had in many forms, not just fresh, and can easily be included in a balanced diet. "This is especially important for families on food assistance programs and in food deserts, where there may be challenges of access, storage, kitchen skills and the like. Canned foods deliver nutrients affordably and conveniently," says Kapica.



MORE: The Healthiest Places to Live in the U.S., Ranked asifferlin ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7138729/fresh-vs-canned-can-you-get-healthy-food-from-a-can/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7138729/fresh-vs-canned-can-you-get-healthy-food-from-a-can/"},"headline":"Fresh vs. Canned: Can You Get Healthy Food from a Can?","datePublished":"2012-04-23T10:45:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-16T10:29:52.473Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/archive/7138729/fresh-vs-canned-can-you-get-healthy-food-from-a-can/","keywords":["Corn","Tuna"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7138729/fresh-vs-canned-can-you-get-healthy-food-from-a-can/","name":"Fresh vs. Canned: Can You Get Healthy Food from a Can?"}}]}] ```