Tomatoes serve as a fundamental ingredient, providing a vibrant and zesty element to an array of meals ranging from salads to pasta.
Aside from their delightful flavor, tomatoes offer significant health benefits. Packed with vitamins A, C, and K, they enhance your immune system, eyesight, and skeletal well-being.
However, did you realize that you can enhance their nutrient content even more by combining them with another everyday ingredient?
READ MORE: Four commonly consumed fruits that might lower your risk of cancer include watermelon.
Health professionals from ZOE recently posted a TikTok showing ways to enhance the nutritional value of your preferred healthy treats. They explained that this improvement comes from understanding how different foods interact with each other and influence the way nutrients are absorbed within our bodies.
Nutritionist Will Bulsiewicz used tomatoes as an example, explaining that pairing them with olive oil—a gut health favourite—can enhance their nutritional benefits.
This combo isn't just perfect for topping bruschetta; it also significantly impacts how your body processes tomatoes.
Will explained that tomatoes contain lycopene, a fat-soluble antioxidant compound that can protect against heart disease and reduce oxidative stress. However, our bodies struggle to absorb lycopene unless it's combined with extra virgin olive oil.
He stated, "The fat derived from the extra-virgin olive oil assists in absorbing more lycopene from the tomatoes."
Will also provided some understanding of how combining certain foods can boost their nutritional value, using the pairing of black pepper with turmeric as an illustration.
He praised turmeric for its potent anti-inflammatory properties, specifically mentioning curcumin, but pointed out that the body has difficulty absorbing it.
Nevertheless, when turmeric is combined with black pepper, absorption improves due to the piperine content in the pepper, which significantly boosts curcumin intake.
This useful suggestion implies that adding a bit of each spice could be a wise choice when preparing your upcoming curry meal.
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