Your favourite fruits are just a single tap away from arriving at your doorstep. From sweet strawberries to fresh watermelons, these seasonal fruits are now available to you all year long. While you might feel tempted to feast on these juicy, seasonal fruits, it might not be the wisest decision to off-season fruits.
The fruits which are grown and harvested outside their natural season might not be the healthiest for you. These seasonal fruits are recommended to be releished during their time when they can grow naturally. According to WebMD, consuming these fruits seasonally, will give you vitamins and minerals that you might not get from regular fruits.
Disadvantages of Eating Off-Season Fruits
Here are all the cons of munching on non-seasonal fruits and why you should not be following this.
- Nutritional Value: While seasonal fruits are available to you all year round, their nutritional value might not remain the same. Fruits which are not of their season will have fewer vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants due to premature harvesting. They could also be artificially ripened, which is not good for your health either.
- Taste and texture: You would have noticed that when you eat fruits which are not grown in their particular season, there is a significant change in their taste and texture. These non-seasonal fruits can be bland, watery, or even have an undesirable texture.
- Artificial Ripening: To make these non-seasonal fruits available to you all year around, artificial ripening is used. Artificial ripening can disrupt the natural fruit’s quality due to use of several chemicals. It is best to avoid eating such non- seasonal fruits.
- More pesticides and preservatives: When fruits are grown out of season, more intensive farming practices like use of harmful pesticides is increased. Due to this, non-seasonal fruits will carry higher pesticide residues.