Ada
Sun, Apr-28-02, 01:01
Sorry John Da MAN (no pun intended), Don't bother to respond;
even Italian chefs agree with the finding of these Cornel
scientists and they after all more artsy than the foolish you.
ada
Italian chefs knew it all along: Cooking plump red tomatoes
boosts disease-fighting, nutritional power, Cornell
researchers say FOR RELEASE: April 19, 2002 Contact: Blaine P.
Friedlander Jr. Office: 607-255-3290 E-Mail: bpf2@cornell.edu
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cooking tomatoes -- such as in spaghetti sauce
-- makes the fruit heart-healthier and boosts its
cancer-fighting ability. All this, despite a loss of vitamin C
during the cooking process, say Cornell food scientists. The
reason: cooking substantially raises the levels of beneficial
compounds called phytochemicals.
Writing in the latest issue of the Journal of Agriculture and
Food Chemistry (April 17), Rui Hai Liu, M.D., Cornell
assistant professor of food science, notes, "This research
demonstrates that heat processing actually enhanced the
nutritional value of tomatoes by increasing the lycopene
content -- a phytochemical that makes tomatoes red -- that can
be absorbed by the body, as well as the total antioxidant
activity. The research dispels the popular notion that
processed fruits and vegetables have lower nutritional value
than fresh produce."
Tomato samples were heated to 88 degrees Celsius (190.4
degrees Fahrenheit) for two minutes, a quarter-hour and a
half-hour. Consistent with previous studies, vitamin C content
decreased by 10, 15 and 29 percent, respectively, when
compared to raw, uncooked tomatoes. However, the research
revealed that the beneficial trans-lycopene content of the
cooked tomatoes increased by 54, 171 and 164 percent,
respectively. Levels of cis -lycopene (which the body easily
absorbs) rose by 6, 17 and 35 percent, respectively; and
antioxidant levels in the heated tomatoes increased by 28, 34
and 62 percent, respectively. Antioxidants protect the human
body from cell and tissue damage, which occurs when harmful
molecules called free radicals, released as oxygen, are
metabolized by the body.
Lycopene, a carotenoid responsible for the red color in
tomatoes and other fruits, has long been known as a powerful
antioxidant that decreases cancer and heart-disease risk.
Carotenoids, along with phenolic acids and flavonoids, are all
phytochemicals, the nutritionally beneficial active compounds
found in every fruit and vegetable.
While the antioxidant activity in tomatoes is enhanced during
the cooking process, vitamin C loss occurs when the food's
ascorbic acid is oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid and other
forms of nutritionally inactive components.Lycopene is the
most-efficient single oxygen quencher, and devours more than
10 times more oxygenated free radicals than vitamin E. "This
makes lycopene's presence in the diet important," says Liu.
"While these findings go against the notion that processed
fruits and vegetables have lower nutritional value, this may
create a new image for processed fruits and vegetables," says
Liu. "Ultimately, this could increase consumers' intake of
fruits and vegetables and could possibly reduce a person's
risk of chronic disease."
Liu's coauthors on the research paper, "Thermal Processing
Enhances the Nutritional Value of Tomatoes by Increasing Total
Antioxidant Activity," are Cornell graduate students Veronica
Dewanto and Kafui K. Adom, and a visiting fellow in Liu's
laboratory, Xianzhong Wu. The research was funded with Hatch
funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative
State Research, Education and Extension Service.
even Italian chefs agree with the finding of these Cornel
scientists and they after all more artsy than the foolish you.
ada
Italian chefs knew it all along: Cooking plump red tomatoes
boosts disease-fighting, nutritional power, Cornell
researchers say FOR RELEASE: April 19, 2002 Contact: Blaine P.
Friedlander Jr. Office: 607-255-3290 E-Mail: bpf2@cornell.edu
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cooking tomatoes -- such as in spaghetti sauce
-- makes the fruit heart-healthier and boosts its
cancer-fighting ability. All this, despite a loss of vitamin C
during the cooking process, say Cornell food scientists. The
reason: cooking substantially raises the levels of beneficial
compounds called phytochemicals.
Writing in the latest issue of the Journal of Agriculture and
Food Chemistry (April 17), Rui Hai Liu, M.D., Cornell
assistant professor of food science, notes, "This research
demonstrates that heat processing actually enhanced the
nutritional value of tomatoes by increasing the lycopene
content -- a phytochemical that makes tomatoes red -- that can
be absorbed by the body, as well as the total antioxidant
activity. The research dispels the popular notion that
processed fruits and vegetables have lower nutritional value
than fresh produce."
Tomato samples were heated to 88 degrees Celsius (190.4
degrees Fahrenheit) for two minutes, a quarter-hour and a
half-hour. Consistent with previous studies, vitamin C content
decreased by 10, 15 and 29 percent, respectively, when
compared to raw, uncooked tomatoes. However, the research
revealed that the beneficial trans-lycopene content of the
cooked tomatoes increased by 54, 171 and 164 percent,
respectively. Levels of cis -lycopene (which the body easily
absorbs) rose by 6, 17 and 35 percent, respectively; and
antioxidant levels in the heated tomatoes increased by 28, 34
and 62 percent, respectively. Antioxidants protect the human
body from cell and tissue damage, which occurs when harmful
molecules called free radicals, released as oxygen, are
metabolized by the body.
Lycopene, a carotenoid responsible for the red color in
tomatoes and other fruits, has long been known as a powerful
antioxidant that decreases cancer and heart-disease risk.
Carotenoids, along with phenolic acids and flavonoids, are all
phytochemicals, the nutritionally beneficial active compounds
found in every fruit and vegetable.
While the antioxidant activity in tomatoes is enhanced during
the cooking process, vitamin C loss occurs when the food's
ascorbic acid is oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid and other
forms of nutritionally inactive components.Lycopene is the
most-efficient single oxygen quencher, and devours more than
10 times more oxygenated free radicals than vitamin E. "This
makes lycopene's presence in the diet important," says Liu.
"While these findings go against the notion that processed
fruits and vegetables have lower nutritional value, this may
create a new image for processed fruits and vegetables," says
Liu. "Ultimately, this could increase consumers' intake of
fruits and vegetables and could possibly reduce a person's
risk of chronic disease."
Liu's coauthors on the research paper, "Thermal Processing
Enhances the Nutritional Value of Tomatoes by Increasing Total
Antioxidant Activity," are Cornell graduate students Veronica
Dewanto and Kafui K. Adom, and a visiting fellow in Liu's
laboratory, Xianzhong Wu. The research was funded with Hatch
funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative
State Research, Education and Extension Service.