Tomato sauce should be heated several times before eating

US scientists claim that heating up sauces and dishes with tomatoes and a little fat will increase the benefits of this red fruit.

The technique will alter the structure of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant found in tomatoes, so that it can penetrate blood vessels more easily. In addition to preventing cancer, lycopene can also fight heart disease and diabetes.

Many previous studies have demonstrated that the benefits of tomatoes increase if they are processed into puree or sauces.

A team of experts at Ohio University (USA) has found a way to increase the beneficial properties of tomatoes.

In raw tomatoes, lycopene has a straight or linear shape that makes it difficult to "squeeze" through the intestinal wall to enter the bloodstream.

But most of the blood lycopene molecule has a curved shape. Therefore, scientists believe that this type of structure helps them enter the blood more easily.

Lycopene molecules in raw tomatoes have a straight form.
Photo: worldofmolecules.com.

According to Dr. Steven Schwartz, lead researcher, humans can bend the structure of lycopene. Heat plays a crucial role in this process, with the help of certain fats to help lycopene pass through the intestinal wall faster.

The expert team poured vegetable oil into sauce and then heated it to 127 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes. After heating, the lycopene "curve" concentration in sauces increased 9-fold compared to when unburnt.

12 volunteers were asked to eat sauce. After each meal, scientists took their blood samples and analyzed them. The results showed that blood lycopene concentration increased to 55%.

Dr. Schwartz thinks that everyone can "create" "curved" lyconpene in their kitchen.

"Many people like to cook tomato sauce for a long time, even heating them from day to day, because after each heat, their taste becomes more attractive. They add fat by removing meat. or vegetable oil in marinade, thereby increasing useful lycopene levels , " he said.