Is tomato sauce still nutritious

Many people may be concerned that tomatoes may lose their nutrients during the process of being processed into tomato sauce, so they believe that the nutritional value of tomato sauce is not as good as fresh tomatoes. What is the truth?

Lycopene Grand Competition

Lycopene is the most meaningful nutrient in tomatoes. It is a strong antioxidant with excellent anti-cancer (such as prostate cancer and lung cancer) and anti-aging effects. Compared to fresh tomatoes, tomato sauce has two major advantages in supplementing lycopene.

The lycopene content of tomato sauce with higher content is more than four times that of fresh tomatoes. Heating during the processing destroys the cell wall, releasing more lycopene, and the concentration process significantly increases its content.

Lycopene has a higher absorption rate and is fat soluble. When tomato sauce is cooked, it can be combined with oil to increase absorption rate.

However, the content of lycopene in tomato sauce is closely related to the raw materials. When purchasing tomato sauce, it is best to choose one that indicates the lycopene content.

Whose nutrients are more concentrated?

Many people are concerned that tomato sauce may lose a lot of nutrients during the processing. Next, let's take a look at the content of several nutrients in tomato sauce.

The content of vitamin C in raw tomatoes is 19 milligrams per 100 grams, while tomato sauce is slightly inferior in this regard because it loses some of its processing heat. But it doesn't mean that all vitamin C is lost. The acidic environment in tomato sauce helps retain some vitamin C, and the loss is only about 10% -30%.

The nutritional components of mineral and dietary fiber tomato sauce are more concentrated, with potassium and dietary fiber content being more than 4 times and 2 times that of tomatoes, respectively. For example, tomato sauce has a potassium content of up to 989 milligrams per 100 grams, making it suitable for hypertensive patients to assist in regulating blood pressure.

Tomato sauce retains most of the B vitamins and carotenoids, such as beta carotene, but its folate content is slightly lower than that of fresh tomatoes.