You can now enjoy that calorie-laden spaghetti Bolognese without feeling guilty. Indulging in leftovers is even better. According to scientists from the Ohio State University, eating reheated spaghetti bolognese can cut the risks of cancer.
There have been many previous studies that give grounds for believing that processing raw tomatoes into purees or sauces enhances its benefits. The recent study proves this further. The novel technique discovered by researchers is that reheating spaghetti bolognese with a little extra oil deepens the health advantages of the processed tomatoes. This method modifies the structure of the tomato molecule lycopene and enables its easy transportation into the bloodstream making it easy to digest.
Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant. It has been proved to nip cancer in the bud in addition to fighting heart diseases and diabetes.
“What we have found is we can take the red tomato molecular form of lycopene and by processing it and heating it in combination with added oil, we can change the shape of the molecule so it is configured in this bent form.†Dr Steven Schwartz, from Ohio State University in Columbus, mentioned in the Daily Mail.
For the research, red tomatoes were processed into two kinds of sauce by scientists. The first type was the bent variety which was rich in cislycopene. The second one was the linear form mostly containing all-trans-lycopene. Next, corn oil was put in both sauces. A major difference, however that produced bent lycopene was a 40-minute second round of heating at 127c. The result was a sauce that had a nine times higher proportion of bent lycopene.
To affirm the study a small experiment was conducted on 12 volunteers. They were given both types of sauce to eat and their blood samples were taken after each meal. An analysis of over nine and a half hours revealed that after consumption of the new sauce, the volunteers had a 55 % higher level of lycopene in their blood.
Rounds of multiple reheating of spaghetti bolognese are already practiced by many families. Researchers suggest this technique is something everyone can actually do at home.
The findings of the study have been presented at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia.