Does it alter their nutritional content or medicinal values of the fruits stored in the refrigerator?

As far as I am aware, both fruit and vegetables start to lose some of their vitamin and mineral content the moment they are picked, but at a very slow rate. So, any kind of storage will result in a little less nutrition than when eaten straight from the plant.

The main problem with fruit is that once they are separated from the parent plant they are designed to begin decaying in order to release the seeds which will eventually multiply the species. They decaying process is then accelerated by moulds, fungi and other species which use the nutrients to reproduce their own species.

I find that certain berry fruits seem to decay faster in the fridge than at room temperature, but why this is I dont know. This is especially true with blackberries, raspberries and strawberries.

With larger fruits and those with harder, thicker skins a cold environment does slow their deterioration rate, but then some of the sugars in the fruit will slowly begin to ferment. This will alter the nutritional structure of the fruit anyway, and may even increase the presence of certain nutrients while other decrease. It is a very complex subject.

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Not at any significant level. In studies, even when fruit was cut and refrigerated it only lost 5 to 10% of vitamins after 6 days of storage. Even this small loss is insignificant.

Some fruits however will not ripen once chilled and in general ripening of fruits will be delayed greatly by cold storage.

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It can for some, like tomatoes(yes they are a fruit). The cold destroys the flavor enzyme in tomatoes and it does NOT come back when the tomato is returned to room temperature. Storing in the fridge is okay for most fruits but not necessary unless you prefer cold fruit and have lots of room in your fridge. Most are NOT kept in coolers at the store at all and are sold at room temperature.

Variety of ways to eat tomatoes

Sliced with a little sea salt. The tomatoes would have to be home grown or beef steaks. Winter tomatoes are horrid. I do use them for cooking, but would rather open a can of diced tomatoes, drain them and put them in a salad than use and imported mealy tomato.

My favorite sandwich using tomatoes is Arnold white bread, lightly toasted and spread with Hellman's mayo, filled with a freshly cooked sliced hard boiled egg and sliced beefsteak tomatoes.

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I eat fresh, home grown tomatoes like an apple. Most tomatoes at the grocery store dont have a lot of flavor so they get stewed and made into soup.

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I'll usually just have cherry tomatoes and I like to eat it plain and fresh. Cooked tomatoes just taste gross to me.

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On a sandwich plain with Mayo or Green and Fried. I LOVE fried green tomatoes.

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Sliced with a little fresh ground pepper and ground sea salt.
Sliced with some diced onion along with the ground pepper and ground sea salt.
Sometimes add a little Ken's Italian Marinade and Salad Dressing to the above mix.

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They go good with a burger and lettuce. Usually, I wait until I have enough from my garden to make a sauce for pasta. SO much better than any sauce from a store! The cherry tomatoes go in salads.

Calcium vitamins for vegans

Calcium is in breakfast cereals, soya milk, nuts, seeds, green leafy vegetables, tofu, wholemeal bread and dried fruits. You will not need supplements if you eat a variety of these foods. I expect the nurse automatically said you needed calcium supplements as soon as you told her you were vegan, did she take a blood test to prove that you were deficient? Many people associate milk and dairy as the only source of calcium but it is abundant in vegan diets, one glass of chopped brocolli contains more calcium than a glass of milk.

What is the best whey protein?

I occasionally use the Body Fortress super advanced whey protein powder in smoothies. It's pretty good, but can be chalky if it isn't mixed through all the way. I like it a lot, though!.

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I prefer cytosport 100% whey. It's actually pretty tasty, mixes well and I certainly build muscle pretty easily for a vegetarian.