John Myers
Fresh local fruit has the most vitamins. However, apples and pears are mostly only harvested until October. In the winter and spring months, they are only available from the region as stored fruit. Exotic fruits can therefore be an alternative. But how sensible is it to meet your vitamin needs with well-traveled pineapples, mangoes, and citrus fruits?
The body needs vitamins regularly
Our body needs certain vitamins and minerals on a regular basis. It can store some over a longer period of time, but we should take in vitamins B and C, in particular, more often. Therefore, the recommendation is to eat five servings of fruit and vegetables every day.
Exotic fruits are usually harvested unripe
It should be borne in mind that the eco-balance of the exotics is not particularly good. The fruits are usually harvested unripe and have to travel long distances before they can be found in stores in this country. Pineapple from Costa Rica takes up to 25 days to get to European ports. Apples and kiwis from New Zealand are on the road for about five weeks. When transported on ships, the goods are cooled to around 0.5 degrees Celsius and the humidity is around 90 percent. The fruit “sleeps” and the ripening process is stopped.
Flying fruit with a lousy ecological balance
Most perishable fruit and vegetables are imported by plane. The advantage is that the fruits are usually harvested when they are ripe. However, the ecological balance is devastating. Because the emissions emitted by an airplane exceed those of ships many times over.
Storage and transport reduce the vitamin content
Storage and long transport routes significantly reduce the vitamin content of fruit. However, this applies to imported goods as well as to regional fruit, because the vitamin content of stored apples also reduces over time.
The longer we store regional apples, the worse their eco-balance becomes. With the absurd consequence that apples imported from far away can have a better ecological balance in spring than local varieties.
It is best to shop regionally and seasonally
So you prefer vitamins in pill form? No, eating fruit is still much healthier. However, exotic fruits should remain the exception and something special. In order to avoid climate-damaging emissions and still eat a diet rich in vitamins, it is recommended to use seasonal fruit and vegetables from the region.
An alternative can also be frozen goods because the vitamins are largely preserved in the frozen fruits due to the shock of freezing when they are ready for harvest.
