Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant with many health benefits, including sun protection, improved heart health and a lower risk of certain types of cancer. Though it can be found as a supplement, it may be most effective when consumed from lycopene-rich foods like tomatoes and other red or pink fruits.

We conclude that the addition of olive oil to diced tomatoes during cooking greatly increases the absorption of lycopene. The results highlight the importance of cuisine (i.e how a food is prepared and consumed) in determining the bioavailability of dietary carotenoids such as lycopene.

Although there are many tomato varieties, processing tomatoes are specially selected for thick skin, and their ability to transport well. Processing tomatoes are primarily canned, dehydrated, as well as turned into paste, puree, pulp, ketchup, tomato sauce and tomato juice.

In addition, lycopene was shown to boost levels of procollagen in the skin significantly, which scientists believe has the potential to reverse skin damage caused by aging. A recent study found that consuming 14 milligrams a day of lycopene can improve fertility in healthy young men by about 40 percent.

Unlike most carotenoids, lycopene occurs in a few places in the diet. Besides tomatoes and tomato products, major sources of lycopene, other lycopene-rich foods include watermelon, pink grapefruit, pink guava, and papaya. Dried apricots and pureed rosehips contain relatively large amounts, too.

A second study shows that lycopene from tomato paste is better absorbed by the body than lycopene from fresh tomatoes, suggesting that processed tomato products—such as tomato paste, tomato sauce and ketchup—are a better source of this antioxidant.

Ketchup is healthier than a tomato Good tomato ketchup contains a lot of – absorbable – lycopene. Heating up the tomatoes destroys the cell walls, allowing our body to absorb the lycopene after all. This makes tomato soup, tomato juice, tomato paste and tomato ketchup healthier than fresh tomatoes.

“Lycopene is present in fruits and vegetables to help prevent damage caused by light,” says Amy Hart, product development manager for Yes To. Frank recommends lycopene for sun damage and excess pigmentation, or melasma, for its gentle lightening effects.

Excessive consumption of lycopene, a plant pigment similar to carotene and present in tomatoes, can cause a deep orange discoloration of the skin. Like carotenodermia, lycopenemia is harmless.

1. Remove any stickers and wash the tomato thoroughly. 2. Remove the stem and cut a shallow X on the bottom of the tomato. This will make peeling much easier. Optional: Some cooks also cut out the stem end with a sharp paring knife. 3. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set it aside.

Carefully lower the tomato into the boiling water. You can add several at a time. Remove them after 30 seconds, or when the skin begins to peel back, and place them into the bowl of ice water.

Tomato skins, when cooked slowly in liquid or sauce, tend to separate from the soft tomato flesh. This can create a stringy, unappealing texture in an otherwise lovely sauce. Here are three simple ways you can peel a tomato. All of them are easy-peasy and take less than a minute per tomato.

Using a sharp knife, slice a shallow X into the bottom of the tomato (opposite the stem side). Gently place the tomatoes into the boiling water. If you have several tomatoes, boil them in batches of 3-4 at a time. Boil the tomatoes until you see the X begin to split open wider, or for 25 seconds, whichever comes first.