The hack
The red pigment in tomatoes, lycopene, is locked inside the plant’s cells. Cooking breaks those walls down, and because lycopene is fat-soluble, a little oil carries it into your body.
Do this
- Make tomato sauce, soups and stews — simmered tomatoes beat raw for lycopene.
- Add a drizzle of olive oil, or eat them alongside nuts or avocado.
- Tomato purée and passata count too — they’re concentrated sources.
Keep it balanced
Raw tomatoes bring more vitamin C, which heat destroys. Eat them both ways. See Red.