6 Myths About Freezing Foods Posted by Hilary Meyer, Associate Editor/Food at 10/3/2011 11:26 AM EDT

Last week I went to town on my freezer, throwing out all kinds of frozen packages from vegetables to meat to leftovers. I filled my 13-gallon trash can, then promptly walked it out to the dumpster for collection. I felt incredibly guilty about how much food I was tossing, but some of it looked more like a science experiment than something I would actually eat. I vowed to take better inventory of the stuff I store in my freezer, but I couldn’t shake the guilty feeling of being so wasteful. Was it really necessary to throw all that food away? So I looked into the facts about freezing foods and found some surprising information that will help me be a little more thrifty in the future.

Myth: You can freeze all foods.
While it’s true most edibles freeze under the right conditions, there are some that should never see the inside of your freezer. Delicate vegetables like lettuce practically disintegrate when they’re frozen then thawed. Creamy sauces that are frozen separate and “break” or curdle when thawed. Even coffee shouldn’t be stored in the freezer—especially dark roasts. The oils that make them so special break down in freezing temperatures, allowing the coffee to readily absorb off- flavors. The USDA also advises not to freeze canned goods or eggs in their shell. (But you can freeze canned goods if they are removed from their original packaging, as well as eggs as long as they are removed from their shell.)

Myth: You can freeze food indefinitely.
This is true at least from a food-safety standpoint, but quality suffers the longer food is frozen. Here are some guidelines from the USDA as to how long to keep food in your freezer (at 0 degrees F) for optimal freshness:

• Soups, stews and casseroles: 2-3 months
• Cooked meat 2-3 months
• Uncooked steaks, roasts or chops: 4-12 months
• Cooked poultry: 4 months
• Uncooked poultry: 9-12 months

Of course how you store the item will lengthen or shorten its freezer life. Air coupled with moisture is the enemy of frozen food (think freezer burn), so if you can keep those two elements out you’ll give your frozen foods a longer life. That’s why I love the vacuum sealer. It sucks air out of the packaging so foods last longer than if they’re just stored in plastic bags or their original packaging.

Myth: Freezing kills bacteria.
Freezing foods renders bacteria inactive but doesn’t actually kill anything. That means if your food went into the freezer contaminated, once thawed it will still harbor the same harmful bacteria. Cooking it to the recommended temperature is the only way to ensure that your food is safe.

Myth: Frozen food has fewer nutrients than fresh.
Actually, the opposite can be true. Frozen fruits and vegetables may be even more healthful than some of the fresh produce sold in supermarkets because they tend to be processed at their peak ripeness, a time when, as a general rule, they are most nutrient-packed. If you’re worried about nutrient loss, eat your frozen fruits and veggies soon after purchase: over many months, nutrients in frozen vegetables do inevitably degrade. Finally, steam or microwave rather than boil your produce to minimize the loss of water-soluble vitamins.

Myth: Once thawed, food cannot be refrozen without cooking it first.
You can freeze and refreeze to your heart’s content as long as the food has not been left outside the fridge for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour in 90-degree heat). One point to be aware of is that refreezing anything uncooked, especially meat, will degrade the quality due to the loss of moisture in the thawing process. So although it is technically safe to eat, from a culinary standpoint, it’s best to avoid refreezing if at all possible.

Myth: You can store frozen food long-term anywhere in your freezer or anywhere that’s cold.
The door of the freezer is a handy place to store frozen items, but not necessarily the best place for long-term storage. The temperature near and on the door fluctuates every time the door is opened. Although the food may remain frozen, the freezing process could be slowed, opening up the possibility for larger ice crystals to form inside the food and destroy its integrity. To prevent this, store frozen foods toward the back of the freezer where a constant 0 degrees F is more likely to be achieved and use goods stored near the front or on the door sooner. And if the power goes out? Don’t open the freezer door! According to the USDA, a full freezer should remain frozen for 2 days. And if you’re tempted to store your freezer overflow in a snowbank—don’t. Even if the temperature is very cold, the sun can still heat up your frozen foods to dangerously warm temperatures. This is still an excellent way to store beer, though. So keep doing that.

How long do you keep food in your freezer?

Life's Stresses Got You Down?  Reach for Adaptogens

Adaptogens help immunize against the harmful effects of stress.

When coping with stress and temporary bouts of fatigue, most Americans reach for that extra cup of coffee or energy shot to get through the day.  Others resort to alcohol, high-calorie snacks, cigarettes, or TV and the couch for an escape. But these habits are counter-productive; they can bring on disrupted sleep, withdrawal symptoms, or weight gain that eventually worsens mental and physical performance.

There may be a better way: adaptogens.

Swedish Herbal Institute researchers Alexander Panossian and Georg Wikman examined randomized, clinical trials on extensively studied adaptogens including rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea), schizandra berry (Schisandra chinensis), and eleuthero root (Eleutherococcus senticosus). They found that these and other adaptogens not only reduce stress and fatigue, but also improve attention and focus.

According to their recently published scientific review on adaptogens published inCurrent Clinical Pharmacology (1), the reason these herbs are effective may be because they stimulate biochemical pathways that help mediate the harmful effects of stress on the body. Among the findings from studies the authors included in their review were the following:

• Rhodiola improved levels of emotional stability, self-esteem, and attention while also reducing fatigue and insomnia.
• Eleuthero root reduced feelings of fatigue and increased resistance to low-oxygen settings, such as in deep-sea diving or high altitudes.
• Schizandra increased work accuracy and feelings of general well-being, and decreased feelings of sleepiness and exhaustion.

From the Greek word “adapto” meaning “to adjust,” the term adaptogen is applied to any botanical that enhances resistance to stress without the side effects of conventional stimulants. Caffeine, according to the researchers, works by “tricking” the brain to make it more alert, but depletes its energy and resources. On the other hand, adaptogens increase the work capacity of the body or brain by being “stress-protective” or “restorative”.

Stress Vaccines

One of the main questions Panossian and Wilkman sought to answer was how adaptogens work. In their paper, they propose that adaptogens may help the body adapt to stress by inducing a mild stress response in the body. Acting like a “stress vaccine” adaptogens then inoculate against future sources of  stress.

In a sense, adaptogens mimic stress, creating an adaptive response in the nervous, cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and gastrointestinal systems. The authors suggest that through the regulation of stress with adaptogenic herbs, consumers may enjoy “enhanced mental and physical performance, and, possibly, increased longevity.”

Writing in a second review published in Pharmaceuticals in 2010 (2), the same authors wrote that these herbs normalize homeostasis (balance in the body) through several mechanisms akin to mild stress hormones. For example, active components of rhodiola, schisandra and eleuthero are structurally similar to catecholamines—primary regulators of stress—and other components resembling corticosteroids that help to inactivate a stress response.  Fortunately, what adaptogens won’t do is impair mental function or cause addiction.

Ionix® Supreme: Adaptogen-rich Stress Tonic

Ionix Supreme is "nature's answer to stress."

Ionix Supreme, deemed “nature’s answer to stress”, is an adaptogen-rich drink designed with potent amounts of rhodiola, shisandra and eleuthero—as discussed by Panossian and Wilkman above—along with other beneficial herbs including:

• Wolfberry (Lycium barbarum) acts as an adaptogen and an antioxidant for the maintenance of good health and increased mental and physical performance (3-5).
• Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) operates as an antioxidant for maintaining good health as well as stimulates liver detoxification (6). It may also support the brain (7) and immune function (8) while increasing the body’s resistance to stress (9).
• Bacopa (Bacopa monnieri) acts as an antioxidant in the maintenance of brain health (10) and has been found to help maintain normal memory and cognitive function (11, 12).

With these herbal ingredients acting synergistically, drinking a shot or two of Ionix Supreme daily offers consumers an advantageous way of obtaining the protection adaptogens provide against stress. The drink can also help improve focus, attention or athletic performance.

Several recent studies also suggest that better management of psychological stress and minimizing its effects may also support more graceful aging. For example, a recent study published in August’s issue of Naturediscovered that mice chronically infused with adrenaline, a hormone released by the body in reaction to stress, resulted in injured DNA (13). This study may help to explain why those individuals subjected to chronic psychological stress have shorter telomeres (14), the  protective caps on chromosomes whose length is considered a biomarker of aging.

Researchers are already studying several ways of combating the ill effects of stress on cells and their telomeres, including the role of exercise. What role will adaptogens have? Adaptogens in a supplement such as Ionix Supreme could be the key to beating stress, supporting healthier aging, and increasing longevity.