Ananda Kaplan Did you know that pairing certain foods together can not only enhance flavor but also improve digestion and boost nutrient absorption?
One great example is tomatoes – found in abundance right now – paired with a little fat and heat.
Within each beautiful red and orange gem of a tomato lie powerful disease-fighting carotenoids, such as lycopene.
Carotenoids are found in yellow, orange, and red plants and give plants their beautiful, vibrant colors. They are some of the most potent antioxidants found in plant-based foods, and have anti-inflammatory properties. (Note that yellow tomatoes have high amounts of beta-carotene, but not lycopene.)
Lycopene not only gives tomatoes their vibrant red and orange color but is also a potent antioxidant that has been shown to have anticancer properties. Some evidence supports that lycopene may reduce prostate cancer risk. Lycopene also reduces inflammation, scavenges free radicals, and may prevent oxidative damage to our DNA.
There are two ways to make the lycopene in tomatoes more available as a nutrient.
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Use Heat: Just 2 minutes of cooking a tomato will increase the available lycopene content by 54%, while cooking for 30 minutes increases the available lycopene by a whopping 164%! In addition, when a tomato is cooked for 30 minutes, overall antioxidant activity significantly increases, by 62%.
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Combine with Healthy Fats: Since lycopene is a fat-soluble nutrient, cooking tomatoes in a little healthy fat (such as olive oil) can enhance absorption.
Easy Combo Ideas
Roast tomatoes with garlic and onions sprinkled lightly with olive oil.
Sauté tomatoes in olive oil and add shiitake mushrooms or crunchy seaweed snacks. (Properties in these ingredients have been shown to promote a change in lycopene structure that greatly increases its absorption.)
Recipes to Try:
⭐️ FREE GUIDE: For more information about beneficial food pairings, please see our free eBook, Food Pairing: Combining Foods to Improve Your Health.
