The Evidence Based Diet: Cooking Tomatoes for Salsa Releases Lycopene

By Robert Latkany, MD
July 27, 2009

Have you ever eaten at a restaurant and wished you could skip the entrée and just eat the salsa and chips?  Well maybe your taste buds and body were trying to tell you something.  Most salsa is made with tomatoes, and tomatoes are fantastic sources of lycopene. 

Lycopene, a member of the carotenoid family, is a powerful antioxidant found in tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables.  In a review of the academic literature on lycopene, Giovannucci found a reduced cancer risk with increased tomato consumption.  The strongest links to reduction in cancer was found for lung cancer, prostate cancer, and stomach cancer.  The research also suggested a possible relationship between tomato consumption and reducing pancreas, colon, esophagus, oral cavity, breast and cervical cancers. 

Getting plenty of lycopene can improve your blood pressure too, according to Paran et al, who performed a clinical trial of tomato extract versus placebo for patients with hypertension.  Personally, I'd rather get my blood pressure control from food than from a pill. 

Here's the trick: heating tomatoes increases the bioabailabilty of lycopene compared to leaving them fresh and raw.  Seems counterintuitive, but true, according to Shi and colleague.  And cooking the tomatoes in oil changes the lycopene to a form that is even easier for the body to absorb and use, according to Agarwal et al.

So save yourself a trip to the restaurant and cook up some salsa and chips. Here's my recipe:

Cooked Salsa and Chips

2 large Beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes, finely diced, about 3 cups
2 cloves of garlic diced
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 tablepsoon lemon juice
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped spearmint
1 ripe peach peeled, pitted and diced
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil on medium in a frying pan for 1 minute and then add the diced garlic and tomatoes
2. Cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring all the while, adding salt and pepper to taste
3. Set aside and place in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours
4. To the cooked, cooled tomatoes, add lemon juice, diced cilantro, spearmint and peach.
5. Add more salt and pepper to taste and serve with corn tortilla chips

Please read our legal disclaimer.

Write a comment

Name:
Email:*
Subject:
Comment:*

I would like to receive news and updates from MedPie.com Yes No

Help prevent spam - enter security code above:
 

Sponsored Links

About Us | Mission Statement | Legal Disclaimer | Contact | Contribute
© 2009 Copyright MedPie.com All Rights Reserved
Web development and hosting by Cyber X Designs