Extra Tomato Paste Adds Up to Increased Nutritional Benefits!

In a recent December 2020 study, “over HALF of the consumers say they want to find immune boosting ingredients at every place they go out to eat” according to Dataessentials FoodBytes Trends Survey. Additionally, 48% of those surveyed want to find “them” in everything they eat, including places you wouldn’t expect to find them, like Burgers, Burritos, and Pizza.

More than a decade ago, and well ahead of any other tomato competitor, Red Gold launched their Better Nutrition Made Simple ™ line of Nutritionally Enhanced ™Sauces and Salsa with significantly increased tomato paste and up to 80% less sodium than their traditional counterparts. Additionally, their line of Naturally Balanced™ Ketchup and Barbeque Sauce offers cleaner label and more nutritious options for condiments.

Why Tomato Paste Is A Big Deal

Often overlooked by many Americans who are cooking at home, one pound of tomato paste packs the nutrient values of six pounds of fresh tomatoes, depending upon the level of concentration. Thus, paste is loaded with flavor along with some of the most important immunity-boosting and cancer-fighting nutrients.

Better yet, marinara is the best loved sauce and ketchup is a popular condiment among consumers. The first ingredient in ketchup is Tomato Paste.

Why Are Tomatoes, and particularly Tomato Paste, So Important to Immunity Boosting?
We will offer you 10 good reasons:

1. Tomatoes contain all three high-powered antioxidants: beta-carotene (which has vitamin A activity in the body), vitamin E, and vitamin C. A USDA report, What We Eat in America, noted that a third or us get too little vitamin C and almost half get too little vitamin A.
2. Tomatoes contain all four major carotenoids: alpha- and beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene. These carotenoids may have individual benefits, but also have synergy as a group (that is, they interact to provide health benefits).
3. Tomatoes contain substantial amounts of lycopene, thought to have the highest antioxidant activity of all the carotenoids. Furthermore, this very important carotenoid is 20 times more bioavailable from processed tomato products than from fresh. This means your body can actually use the available lycopene more easily in this form. This includes tomato paste and all types of tomato products that have been heated and canned.
4. Tomatoes are rich in potassium. A cup of tomato juice contains 534 milligrams of potassium, and 1/2 cup of tomato sauce has 454 milligrams.
5. When tomatoes are eaten along with healthier fats, like avocado or olive oil, the body’s absorption of the carotenoid phytochemicals in tomatoes can increase by two to 15 times, according to a study from Ohio State University.
6. Tomatoes and broccoli combined may help reduce the risk of prostate cancer. One study showed that prostate tumors grew much more slowly in rats that were fed both tomato and broccoli powder than in rats given lycopene as a supplement or fed just the broccoli or tomato powder alone.
7. A diet rich in tomato-based products may help reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a study from The University of Montreal. The researchers found that lycopene (provided mainly by tomatoes) was linked to a 31% reduction in pancreatic cancer risk between men with the highest and lowest intakes of this carotenoid.
8. Tomatoes are a big part of the famously healthy Mediterranean diet. Many Mediterranean dishes and recipes call for tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce. Some recent studies, including one from The University of Athens Medical School, found that people who most closely follow the Mediterranean diet have lower death rates from heart disease and cancer. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, who followed more than 39,000 women for seven years, found that consumption of oil- and tomato-based products — particularly tomato and pizza sauce — was associated with cardiovascular benefits.
9. When breastfeeding moms eat tomato products, it increases the concentration of lycopene in their breast milk. In this case, cooked is best. The researchers also found that eating tomato products like tomato sauce increased concentrations of lycopene in breast milk more than eating fresh tomatoes did.
10. When trying to build your iron counts, Vitamin C is critical to help increase the absorption of the iron by your body. Try Linguine with Red Clam Sauce a day or two before you donate a pint a blood! Those clams, super rich in iron, along with tomatoes, loaded with Vitamin C, will help increase your iron absorption.

Today, due to the pandemic, Red Gold’s Better Nutrition Made Simple™ products are of new interest to foodservice directors and nutritionists throughout the industry. This includes healthcare facilities, colleges and universities as well as commercial restaurants. This comprehensive Product Line contains more than 22 product options and are thus a new-found “super food hero.”

While the benefits of a tomato-laden diet are not solely a claim that can be made by Red Gold’s Better Nutrition Made Simple™ product lines are a unique and easy solution, well ahead of the curve for food manufacturers looking to bring more functional and super food type products to foodservice. Sometimes you need only look to an often overlooked native source.