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Cook Tomatoes For Nutrient Boost |
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Friday, 19 May 2006 |
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Researchers at Cornell University in the USA have found that cooking tomatoes makes them healthier and boosts their cancer-fighting ability. While cooking tomatoes, such as in a pasta sauce, decreases the level of vitamin C in the fruit, it substantially increases the levels of beneficial compounds called phytochemicals. Heat processing actually enhanced the nutritional value of tomatoes by increasing the antioxidant activity and the lycopene content, a phytochemical that makes tomatoes red.
After heating tomatoes to 88°C, the vitamin C content of the tomatoes decreased by up to 30 per cent, and the lycopene content increased by well over 100 per cent after quarter of an hour. Just two minutes of cooking expanded lycopene by over 50 per cent. Lycopene is a carotenoid responsible for the red colour of tomatoes and other fruits, such as watermelon, strawberries and red grapefruit, and has long been known as a powerful antioxidant that decreases cancer and heart-disease risk. Carotenoids, along with phenolic acids and flavonoids, are all phytochemicals, the nutritionally beneficial active compounds found in every fruit and vegetable. Antioxidant levels overall increased up to 62 per cent. Antioxidants protect the human body from cell and tissue damage, which occurs when harmful molecules called free radicals, released as oxygen, are metabolised by the body. |
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