Scientists have found that cooked tomatoes reduce the risk of heart disease. They found that antioxidant lycopene, contained in tomatoes, is especially powerful after the vegetables are processed.
Heart Health & Eating Tomatoes
80 g of tomato sauce are enough to protect people from the harmful effects on the cardiovascular system, which fatty foods produce. The researchers from the University of Verona in Italy invited 20 volunteers to participate in a little experiment. The people were divided into two groups. The participants of the first group were given a fatty dish with a tomato sauce, and the members of the second group ate it without any sauce.
Atherosclerosis Prevention
It turned out that even such small amounts of cooked tomatoes were enough to protect the blood vessel walls and prevent the development of endothelial dysfunction, a disorder that usually precedes atherosclerosis. This chronic disease of the elastic and muscular-elastic arteries is very dangerous for the cardiovascular system as the victims of atherosclerosis often face infarcts.
How to Get The Maximum Health Benefits of Eating Tomatoes?
Note that it is not the first time antioxidant lycopene, a carotenoid pigment that provides the tomatoes with their deep rich color, appears in the studies. In recent years, scientists have been able to prove that this substance protects the human body from a variety of ailments, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. It has also been found out that the content of lycopene in fresh tomatoes is significantly less than in cooked tomatoes, so the experts recommend using these vegetables after any kitchen processing: cooking, roasting, marinating, etc.
