Why Cooked Tomatoes Are Better For You Than Raw Tomatoes
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We know that eating vegetables is essential for good health. Tomatoes, in particular, have many protective effects. But to enjoy it, it must be eaten cooked rather than raw. This is what Dr. Jean-Michel Cohen reveals in an interview with Le Parisien.
Tomato is the star of summer recipes, it is not for nothing: fresh and tasty, it hydrates as much as it delights the palate, because it comes in all shapes and colors.
But it has many other benefits, especially for health. Among its strengths? Its content of lycopene, a pigment that gives tomato its beautiful color, but is considered above all as the most powerful antioxidant.
A meta-analysis published in 2014 in the journal Scientific Reports, for example, highlighted the protective role of tomatoes against prostate cancer thanks to their lycopene content. But its benefits do not end there! This antioxidant is also believed to limit the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure or stroke.
But to fully enjoy the beneficial effects of lycopene, there is a simple and effective trick: cook tomatoes instead of eating them raw. This is what Dr. Jean-Michel Cohen, nutritionist, reveals in his latest book "Nourishing your health".
Tomato: 30 minutes of cooking to enjoy its health benefits
In an interview with Le Parisien, the specialist explains this phenomenon: "When tomatoes are raw, their lycopene is trapped inside the plant cells, whose walls are resistant. It only takes 30 minutes of cooking for it to be released from the cells, it becomes an active molecule and is more assimilated by the body ".
The nutritionist doctor goes further and says that cooked tomatoes are better for you than raw tomatoes. "For example, tomato paste contains 16 times more lycopene than fresh tomatoes eaten in a salad," he explains.
Your advice to enjoy the health benefits of cooked tomatoes even more? "Cook them with olive oil because lycopene better crosses the gut barrier in the presence of a fatty substance," he suggests.
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