Turning Up The Heat On Tomatoes Boosts Absorption Of Lycopene
Friday, August 22, 2008 - 10:14
in Physics & Chemistry
Turning up the heat on the red tomato during processing has the potential to give the popular garden staple added disease-fighting power. Scientists have found that lycopene molecules in tomatoes that are combined with fat and subjected to intense heat during processing are restructured in a way that appears to ease their transport into the bloodstream and tissue. The tomato is the primary food source of lycopene, a naturally occurring pigment linked to the prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases.