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Vegetable questions, and more

By Barbara Quinn, The Monterey County Herald, Source: MCT News Service

Dear Barbara: I'm a senior and live alone. I try to eat properly, and like veggies. But you told me once that fresh vegetables lose their vitamins after three or four days in the fridge. If I buy fresh, I get a small amount but end up eating the same vegetable every day until it is gone. I can buy frozen organic and have a variety, without them spoiling, which makes it nice and more economical. But, am I getting the vitamins from the frozen? ‹

_Myrtle G.

Dear Myrtle: You may be getting more vitamins from frozen vegetables than you think. Nutritional value is at its peak right when vegetables are harvested. And that¹s when frozen vegetables get frozen. According to the

United States Department of Agriculture, the freezing process itself does not destroy nutrients. Fresh-picked vegetables are packed with nutrients, but quickly lose them (especially the water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C) if they are stored for any length of time.

Fresh is still best, especially if you eat veggies straight from your garden or a farmers market. But frozen vegetables have merit, too! Just remember not to cook them to death.

By the way, Myrtle, you can find a great list of recommended food storage times online from the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension: http://ces.ca.uky.edu/oldham-files/FN-SSB.085.pdf .

Dear Barbara: I have enjoyed your weekly column, and have learned a great deal. My question concerns calcium and vitamin D. I have heard that a person can only absorb 300 mgs. of calcium at a time and any more than that goes through your system without any benefit. Is this correct? And I understand there is a blood test to measure vitamin D levels.

What is the "right" level on the blood test? Thanks for your help. _Gale S.

Dear Gale: In general, a person can absorb about 500 mgs. of calcium at a time, so best to take you calcium supplements in divided doses. (FYI, 1 cup (8 oz.) of milk contains about 300 mgs. and 100 IU vitamin D.)

As for blood tests to measure vitamin D, the 25-hydroxy (25-OH) vitamin D test is probably the most accurate measurement, according to the National Institutes of Health. The normal range for this test is 30 to 74 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), but these ³normals² may vary between labs. Ask your doctor to interpret your individual results.

Dear Barbara: My doctor has a great sense of humor. After doing some minor surgery on my foot (that I happily slept through), he painted a four-leaf clover on my bandage and a smiley face on the bottom of my toe.

How can I thank him and my wonderful friends for taking such good care of me as I recover? _Barbara Q.

Dear Barbara: You do indeed have a great doc and wonderful friends.

Perhaps you can thank them publically, like in this column. Just a thought.

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(Barbara Quinn is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. E-mail her at bquinn@chomp.org.)

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(c) 2010, The Monterey County Herald (Monterey, Calif.).

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