Health benefits of Cooked Tomatoes

Tomatoes have long been known to be good sources of lycopene, the phytochemical that makes them red but which also has significant antioxidant properties. Now, new research has shown that this antioxidant power can be boosted even more through the simple act of cooking the tomatoes.

Cooking the tomatoes increase the level of phytochemicals they contain, although it also reduces the amount of vitamin C found in the vegetable.

Fact: heat processing actually enhanced the nutritional value of tomatoes by increasing the lycopene content that can be absorbed by the body, as well as the total antioxidant activity. This statement dispels the popular notion that processed fruits and vegetables have lower nutritional value than fresh produce.

Illustration: Tomato samples were heated to about 190 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 minutes, 15 minutes and 30 minutes. Consistent with previous studies, vitamin C content decreased by 10, 15 and 29 percent respectively when compared to raw, uncooked tomatoes. The research revealed that the beneficial trans-lycopene content of the cooked tomatoes increased by 54, 171 and 164 per cent respectively. Levels of cis-lycopene, easily absorbed by the body rose by 6, 17 and 35 per cent respectively. Antioxidant levels in the heated tomatoes increased b 28, 34 and 62 per cent respectively.

While the antioxidant activity in tomatoes enhanced during the cooking process, vitamin C loss occurs when the food’s ascorbic acid is oxidised to dehydroascorbic acid and other forms of nutritionally inactive components. Lycopene is the most efficient single oxygen quencher and devours more than 10 times more oxygenated free radicals than Vitamin E.