Lycopene or why tomato ketchup is good for you
Whether you eat them raw, as ketchup, paste or a sauce on your pizza, the health and anti-aging benefits of tomatoes simply cannot be denied. Tomatoes are one of nature's superfoods.
The reasons why tomatoes are an anti-aging powerhouse can be summed up in one word - lycopene. Tomatoes contain more lycopene, one of the most powerful antioxidant vitamins known to man, than any other food stuff.
For antioxidants read anti-aging. Lycopene belongs to the same family of chemicals as beta-carotene but is almost twice as powerful an antioxidant. Antioxidants are powerful neutralizers of the free radicals that often damage human cells, causing premature aging and many forms of cancer including lung, bladder, cervix and skin.
But it doesn't stop there. Tests have shown that the lycopene in tomatoes can be more readily absorbed into the body when the fruit is processed into sauce, pulped into juice, or pressed into paste and ketchup. Lycopene in all these forms is absorbed up to four times more efficiently than from raw tomatoes.
It really doesnt matter how you eat your tomatoes fresh, tinned, frozen or cartooned - the good news is you still get the anti-aging and health benefits of lycopene. There certainly aren't many foods that can claim health benefits no matter how they are processed!
Strangely enough, lycopene isn't a necessary nutrient — our bodies function perfectly well without it — but even so, it does increase our chances of optimal health and longevity and the benefits of tomatoes shouldn't be underestimated.
So next time your kids want to drown their fries in ketchup, instead of cringing, be happy that they're offsetting some of the health dangers of fried foods with the lycopene in tomatoes. In fact, when tomato products are mixed with oil rich dishes, the assimilation from the digestive tract to the bloodstream is even greater!
Comments
Rich said:
Problem is, the lycopene hardly makes up for the high-fructose corn syrup and high sodium content of most ketchups.
George Martin said:
Can I use frozen tomatoes to make ketchup
Eileen said:
George - any sort of tomatoes are full of lycopene and I'm sure frozen tomatoes would be just fine in home made ketchup.
Eileen said:
Rich - I totally agree you have to steer clear of both fructose and high salt content in ketchup but there are brands which avoid both and you'd still get your lycopene. Or like George said - make your own.