A lot of nonsense is heard about fresh fruit and vegetables being better for you than the alternatives - frozen, canned and dried products. Fresh food is, of course, nutritious, but only if you eat it within a day or two of purchase. To take frozen food first, this is blanched (that is, dunked in hot water) to prevent a natural chemical breakdown occurring. Immediately after, it is frozen to halt nutrient loss. Freezing vegetables such as broccoli and spinach does not seriously reduce their vitamin C content. Canned food has a lower vitamin C content than either fresh or frozen food. However, it contains nutrients and photochemicals, the natural compounds which give plants their particular tastes and colouring. These act as antioxidants, which help ward off cancer, heart disease and premature ageing. Canned carrots and squash contain betacarotene and canned tomatoes lycopene. All canned beans are rich sources of protein, iron, magnesium and B vitamins. Finally, we come to dried foods. Drying involves removing most of the water from fresh food In order to prevent bacteria and mould from forming. The remaining nutrients are concentrated, so that dried fruit, for example, is a rich source of minerals such as iron and calcium. Although the heat process involved in drying destroys vitamin C and some betacarotene, dried fruit is a good source of other antioxidants. So eat fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruit and vegetables - they are all good for you.