Fresh Off the Vine

An important part of any diet would include produce that is literally fresh off the vine. I'm not talking about foods labeled as "farm fresh" which have been sitting in packages in the store for days. I'm talking about walking into the garden, pulling off some leaves or fruit, and eating it on the spot (or soon after).

As soon as produce has been picked, a timer starts ticking. With each passing moment, nutrients are lost. Quite a bit breaks down within the first few hours and days. By the time you get most foods at the grocery store, even the freshest have probably been picked days and even weeks before (ironically, canned and frozen foods are often preserved more quickly than that).

There are many farms that allow people to pick their own berries, fruits and vegetables. Pick Your Own is a directory of sites all across the USA, Canada and even a few other countries. Its a great day out with the family and a nutritious one to boost. Few experiences you can give your children are better than a day out munching on fresh, ripe berries right off the bush. Even if you eat what you pick days later, you are still way ahead of the game, as produce in the stores will most likely have been sitting for much longer.

Farmers markets are another way to buy food that is locally grown and recently picked. Local Harvest has an online directory of sites (it is also a great website to find stores and restaurants that stock locally picked foods). I did a quick test of Columbus markets, and it seems to list most of them, but there were some missing, so keep your eyes out for additional ones in your area.

The best is really to have your own garden. If you are not up for that or have space limitations, even the most citified apartment-dweller can find room for a few pots of herbs or tomatoes. A number of other vegetables grow well in containers, such as cucumbers, peppers, eggplant and squash. You just need to research how to do it--check this site by OSU Extension.

And don't rule out grocery stores, either. Check with the manager or look for signs above produce indicating the freshness of an item. They will often stock locally grown and recently picked items, you just have to be on the lookout for it.

So how much vine-fresh produce should you eat? Even our ancestors who lived completely off the land most likely picked food and ate some of it days later, carrying it with them in pouches (they are significant since their lifestyle was the one our bodies evolved under). Further, some of us in northern climates will have to take advantage of this as the seasons permit. So there is a limit to what we can do, and it may not be necessary to go to extremes in this. That being said, I see no reason not to eat as much fresh foods as you can possibly eat.

In the peak of summer gardening, I will gorge myself on just-picked veggies and make them the absolute centerpiece of my diet. However, considering the difficulty in finding items as fresh as what I'm talking about during most of the year, you may have to be satisfied averaging a few servings a week. But if you do, you'll be way ahead of the game, as most Americans eat little to none of this, opting instead for a diet that has been pulverized, nuked, sterilized and chemically preserved.

Our ancestors ate off the vine, and so should we. And don't worry if its not washed perfectly clean--you may be keeping some useful microbes in your meal, as well! Most people realize they need fresh foods in their diet, but if they are looking in grocery stores they might be falling a bit short. They end up with food that is raw--which is important, since you do need some raw foods in your diet, as well. Frozen or canned may be fresher, but they are no longer raw. It is best if you can find foods that meet both of those aspects--raw and fresh.