Some say they are a source of many great nutrients, others that any canned foods have a large amount of preservatives and realistically should be avoided despite this… where is the truth about consuming these foods and their overall quality for us nutritionally? I imagine the truth lies somewhere in between and that both of these perspectives are correct in their own ways. I’m curious to hear your thoughts
A lot of canned foods are a safe, cheap, and convenient source of nutrition. They’re especially important for people who might not be able to reliably access fresh/frozen food for one reason or another.
A lot of the “healthier” canned foods are kind of single-ingredient type items (basically just food x, water, salt) that belong to a particular food group (e.g. vegetable, fruit, protein). They are generally used as ingredients rather than as an entire meal on their own, and have essentially the same nutrition as if you prepared them yourself at home, besides the extra salt (which in many cases like beans/chickpeas can be mostly rinsed off anyway)
However, there are many canned foods that are high in added fat, salt, and/or sugar and other refined ingredients. Think things like Chef Boyardee or other canned pastas in sauce, really high sodium soups, pork & beans/baked beans vs. plain beans, fruit packed in syrup instead of water, etc. I would say “avoid” is a strong word - it’s not the end of the world to eat these foods sometimes - just that some canned foods might be better choices than others depending on what is added. It’s not black and white but that may explain part of the discrepancy you’re hearing about.