Orange alert

Natural Health, Sept, 2007 by Rachel Seligman

BRIGHT-RED TOMATOES and foods made from them (like ketchup and marinara sauce) are known for being rich in lycopene, a cancer-fighting antioxidant. But according to a 2007 Ohio State University study, a certain variety of orange tomato called a Tangerine may be an even better source of lycopene. Researchers served 12 people two meals--spaghetti with tomato sauce made from red tomatoes on one day and from Tangerine tomatoes on another--and found that participants absorbed 2.5 times mote lycopene from the orange-colored sauce.

If you can't find Tangerine tomatoes at your grocery store, look for orange tomatoes or gold heirloom varieties, suggest the Ohio State researchers. And no matter which color you choose, you'll get the most lycopene by cooking the tomato, says Elisa Zied, R.D., spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and author of Feed Your Family Right! (Wiley, 2007).