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Tomato Paste
Tomato Paste
Tomato Paste
What is it:
Tomato paste is a concentrated form of tomatoes that’s commonly used as a flavoring agent in cooking. To produce tomato paste, ripe tomatoes are harvested and processed. The tomatoes are first washed and then heated to remove their skins. The peeled tomatoes are then crushed and cooked down to evaporate much of their water content, resulting in a thick, rich paste. This paste is further strained to remove seeds and excess fibers. It is commonly used in sauces, soups, and other dishes.
Rating:
Tomato paste is a rich source of lycopene, a potent antioxidant that is associated with many health benefits, including improving endothelial function and protection against cellular oxidation. The lycopene in tomato paste appears to be more bioavailable than the lycopene from regular tomatoes, and tomato paste also retains many of its nutrients during processing and storage. Choosing organic options can help reduce pesticide exposure.
Resources:
- Antioxidant properties of lycopene in tomato paste protects against photodamage (in vivo randomized controlled trial)
- Tomato paste supplementation improves endothelial dynamics and reduces plasma total oxidative status in healthy subjects (randomized controlled trial)
- Lycopene is more bioavailable from tomato paste than from fresh tomatoes (controlled trial)
- Effects of industrial tomato paste processing on ascorbic acid, flavonoids and carotenoids and their stability over one-year storage
How we rate ingredients
Health is like a bank account, certain ingredients make a deposit into your health bank, meaning they add to
your health. Certain ingredients withdraw from your health bank. We want health promoting ingredients in our diet. To keep things simple, we rate ingredients on a green, yellow, red scale:
Clean
It is naturally occurring in food and has no harmful effects on the body. It is real food. It is health promoting.
Caution
It goes into one or more of the below categories
- It is not naturally occurring in food but doesn’t have data showing it has a harmful effect on the body (additives like Gellan Gum)
- It is naturally occurring but can have some harmful effects on the body (added sugars, oils, gums etc.)
We Avoid
It is known to have a harmful effect on the body (ex. All food colorings, Natural Flavors, MSG, Potassium bromate, aspartame, artificial flavors)
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