How does the cooking process typically affect the availability of Vitamin C in tomatoes?
Vitamin C levels are heat-sensitive
When comparing how different preparation methods influence nutrient absorption, it is important to recognize that various components react differently to heat. While cooking tomatoes, such as turning them into a rich paste, successfully boosts the absorption of lycopene because heat helps release it, the text explicitly points out a limitation regarding Vitamin C. Vitamin C is characterized as being heat-sensitive. This means that prolonged exposure to high temperatures during the cooking process degrades the concentration of this essential nutrient. Therefore, maximizing the intake of Vitamin C often requires consuming tomatoes raw or using gentle cooking methods that minimize its destruction compared to methods optimized for fat-soluble compounds like lycopene.
