Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

as it turns out, this is one case where a vegetable is more healthful cooked than it is raw: Tomatoes contain a lot of water, so they become more concentrated as the water evaporates during cooking. The result is that a half cup of cooked tomatoes, in the form of sauce or paste, for instance, is a far more concentrated source of lycopene than a half cup of fresh tomatoes. And your body absorbs more lycopene from cooked or processed tomatoes, especially when the tomatoes are cooked with a little oil, as they often are. (Serving raw tomatoes with oil--a drizzle of olive oil, for instance--also enhances lycopene absorption).