Especially when cooked, tomato sauce is able to activate intestinal bacteria that protect our health.
Gut-friendly tomato sauce! Especially when cooked, the sauce is able to activate intestinal bacteria that protect our health. Therefore, not only is tomato sauce a precious source of powerful antioxidants, but it also has an important probiotic action.
This is confirmed by the Spanish researchers of the Universitat Politècnica de València, who in a research published in the Journal of Functional Foods rely on the so-called "functional foods", that is, those which, in addition to having a high nutritional value, have a beneficial effect on organism and reduce the risk of suffering from certain diseases.
And this beneficial effect does not depend only on the quantity of bioactive components in the food, but also and above all on the changes that foods undergo during the digestive process, which affect their "bioaccessibility" and "bioavailability".
Starting from this assumption, the Valencian scholars have evaluated the impact of some antioxidants in tomatoes, phenolic compounds and lycopene, on the vitality of the probiotic microorganism lactobacillus reuteri, and vice versa, throughout the digestive process. Thus occurred as the presence of compounds antioxidants protect the probiotic strain from the loss of vitality that occurs during digestion, obtaining a greater effect when they come from cooked and not raw tomato sauce.
Basically, the analyzes showed that cooking tomatoes strengthens lycopene and makes it capable of surviving the digestive process and therefore available to be absorbed by the body.
Lycopene increases the probiotic effect by supporting the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut. Specifically, the researchers focused on the action of L. reuteri, one of the most important bacteria for the gut, and found effective interactions between antioxidants in tomato sauce and this bacterium for health improvement.
Also remember that, in addition to lycopene, the simple tomato sauce, perhaps made with a light fry based on extra virgin olive oil, garlic or onion, also contains carotenoids, vitamin C and about 40 antioxidant substances useful for the well-being of the heart and to prevent serious diseases such as cancer.
Now let's take advantage of the summer to make go go sauces with fresh tomatoes and, in view of next winter, why not prepare ourselves some great pastries?
Read also:
- Homemade tomato puree: the recipe for the perfect sauce
- Do-it-yourself preserves: 10 sauces and preparations under glass to enjoy vegetables all year round
- 5 ways to store tomatoes and enjoy them all year round
Germana Carillo
