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You go to the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon, eager to get home and be able to continue with the weekend's schedule. In the produce section, you see the pre-cut food section and think: "why not buy the vegetables already washed and chopped? I'm going to save a lot of time during the week." You put some trays in the cart and go to the next sector.
Did it already happen to you? From carrots, mushrooms, chopped green seasoning to fruit. It's happened to me, especially with the pumpkin that I thought "damn, now I don't need to peel anymore, yuhu!"
The issue here will not be the convenience (yes, it's easier, right?!), but the quality and nutritional effect. Is it the same between whole and pre-cut foods? Let's go to the data.
Where it all starts
But calm down, I want to be specific here. Let's start by talking about endotoxins, which are structural components of gram-negative bacteria, such as the better known E.coli. When in high concentration in our body, they start an inflammatory process, especially in the intestines, digestive and urinary tracts.
In the scientific literature, there is a theory that tried to explain how a single meal of sausage and egg could impair the functioning of the artery a few hours after consumption. Perhaps this is because such a meal causes inflammation by inducing low-grade endotoxemia: endotoxins in the bloodstream within hours of consumption.
We have a large colony of bacteria in our intestines. In fact, we have more bacteria around our bodies than cells. And yes, among bacteria, we also have these gram-negative, like endotoxins. But beyond what we already have, we may be getting even more of these inflammation-causing bacteria into our bodies and bloodstreams, and that through food.
Certain foods have higher bacterial loads, such as ground beef. Have you ever heard someone say "I don't buy ground beef because it has more bacteria than a whole piece"? And it's true. However, even so, the biggest sources of endotoxins are the meat in general and dairy products. This is mainly due to cross-contamination with the animal's own feces when the digestive tract is ruptured or the contamination of the physical environment (which may be more common than you might think).
What if I boil or deep-fry meat? In one study, they realized that there is an easy way to kill any bacteria if the carcass is boiled long enough, but not the endotoxins. And the moment the endotoxins are in place, the meat can even be stored in the refrigerator, the bacterial growth remains.
Clau, I follow a Plant-Based Nutrition! I want to know about vegetables and fruits!
Phew, I'm very happy for you. So don't worry about it.
Let's talk about pre-cut vegetables.
In another study, the lowest levels of endotoxins were found in fresh fruits and vegetables, but when they are whole.
Bacteria and spoilage organisms cannot penetrate through the hard natural husks. However, when we open the food, these bacteria manage to gain access to the interior of the fruit and within days the deterioration process begins.
Basically, when we cut food, we break the natural protective layer and decrease their resistance. If we chop a carrot and analyze it, it will have no detectable levels of bacteria. However, day after day and even in the refrigerator, we see bacteria growing. Calm down, not as fast-paced as with animal products.
Here comes an incredible study: freshly chopped onions were compared with pre-chopped onions and chilled for a few days. The pre-cut onions were fresh and in great condition.
Onions act in our body as a potent anti-inflammatory, that's why the study is so amazing because the main point is to analyze whether pre-cut onions have endotoxins causing inflammation.
The purpose of the study was to see how onions would behave inside our bodies, so they were consumed by study participants.
3 hours after consumption, fresh onion caused significant decreases in several markers of inflammation (as mentioned above, a natural benefit of onion as well as other fruits and vegetables).
**The groups were measured before onions consumption and after, to find out how much inflammation they had when they started the study and after consumption.
However, this result was not observed in the group that ate the exact same amount of pre-chopped onions. There was not the same reduction in inflammation as in the first group, but there was also no increase in inflammation.
In other words, it's not that pre-cut onions caused more inflammation (as in studies with meat, milk, and eggs), but the levels of inflammation remained stable.
Conclusion: Consuming pre-cut vegetables rather than whole foods is associated with increased exposure to oral endotoxins. However, fruits and vegetables have such potent anti-inflammatory effects that endotoxins end up canceling this power, but not causing further inflammation in the body.
It's definitely still better to eat pre-chopped vegetables than not to eat vegetables, due to all the other nutrients they have, but cutting out your own foods at home can be healthier.
References:
Herieka M, Faraj TA, Erridge C. Reduced dietary intake of pro-inflammatory Toll-like receptor stimulants favorably modifies markers of cardiometabolic risk in healthy men. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2016;26(3):194-200.
