Boosts Disease-Fighting Power

[dasa 0]

Source: Cornell University (http://www.cornell.edu/)

Posted 4/23/2002

 

Cooking Tomatoes Boosts Disease-Fighting Power

 

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cooking tomatoes -- such as in spaghetti sauce -- makes the fruit heart-healthier and boosts its cancer-fighting ability. All this, despite a loss of vitamin C during the cooking process, say Cornell food scientists. The reason: cooking substantially raises the levels of beneficial compounds called phytochemicals.

Writing in the latest issue of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry (April 17), Rui Hai Liu, M.D., Cornell assistant professor of food science, notes, "This research demonstrates that heat processing actually enhanced the nutritional value of tomatoes by increasing the lycopene content -- a phytochemical that makes tomatoes red -- that can be absorbed by the body, as well as the total antioxidant activity. The research dispels the popular notion that processed fruits and vegetables have lower nutritional value than fresh produce."

 

Tomato samples were heated to 88 degrees Celsius (190.4 degrees Fahrenheit) for two minutes, a quarter-hour and a half-hour and antioxidant levels in the heated tomatoes increased by 28, 34 and 62 percent, respectively. Antioxidants protect the human body from cell and tissue damage, which occurs when harmful molecules called free radicals, released as oxygen, are metabolized by the body.

 

Lycopene, a carotenoid responsible for the red color in tomatoes and other fruits, 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.

 

While the antioxidant activity in tomatoes is enhanced during the cooking process, vitamin C loss occurs when the food's ascorbic acid is oxidized 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. "This makes lycopene's presence in the diet important," says Liu.

 

"While these findings go against the notion that processed fruits and vegetables have lower nutritional value, this may create a new image for processed fruits and vegetables," says Liu. "Ultimately, this could increase consumers' intake of fruits and vegetables and could possibly reduce a person's risk of chronic disease."

 

 

[Shashi 0]

Originally posted by dasa:

"While these findings go against the notion that processed fruits and vegetables have lower nutritional value, this may create a new image for processed fruits and vegetables," says Liu. "Ultimately, this could increase consumers' intake of fruits and vegetables and could possibly reduce a person's risk of chronic disease."

 

 

They are comparing the cooked tomatar with the raw tomatar and therefore I am thinking this is not a good comparison.

They should be comparing cooked tomatar with raw tomatar that is left in 36 degrees celsius condition in a mild acid for a couple of hours as tthis is what is happening in the person's gastro intestinal tract. When they are be able to simulate the "cooking" that happens to a raw food in the gastro intestinal tract and then test the accessibility of the nutrimnets of the tomatar so "cooked" then we will be getting a fairer comparison.

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by Shashi (edited 04-24-2002).]

[Shashi 0]

 

[This message has been edited by Shashi (edited 04-24-2002).]