Ketchup seems to have found a permanent home on our dinner table. I resisted at first but over time I've been able to rationalize it's place in the diet. It's amazing what kids will dip in ketchup. My son's favorite food is salmon dipped in ketchup. The small amount of guilt I feel for the added sugar is offset by the healthy fats found in the salmon. He'll even eat broccoli, if there is ketchup on his plate. Ketchup is mainly made of tomato paste, sugar, vinegar and spices. I wouldn't go so far as to count it as a vegetable serving, however, some may argue there is more to ketchup than meets the eye. Tomato products contain an active ingredient called lycopene. Lycopene is a red pigment found in plants like tomatoes, watermelon and pink grapefruit which may lower the risk of
cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and even some forms of cancer such as prostate cancer. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant, which has been proven to be even more beneficial than beta-carotene, a common vitamin found in dark green and orange vegetables. How do antioxidants help our body? An antioxidant helps protect our cells from destruction caused by oxidation. To understand how oxidation causes damage think of a clean new wooden deck or fence. If you put a sealant on the wood it helps protect the fence from oxidation and degradation. Antioxidants like lycopene help protect our cells from oxidation like the sealant on the deck. Lycopene can be found in most tomato based products that traditionally have been considered unhealthy especially products like ketchup and pizza sauce. Approximately 80% of lycopene intake in the Noth American diet comes from tomato based products like tomato juice, ketchup and pizza sauce. Oddly enough, ketchup and pizza sauce are actually better sources of lycopene than fresh tomatoes. Lycopene is best absorbed when the tomato product has been cooked and mixed with a source of fat such is the case with olive oil in spaghetti sauce and cheese on pizza. Don't discount fresh tomatoes because they still contain a number of vitamins in addition to the small amount lycopene. How much lycopene should you be consuming in a day in order to benefit from its antioxidant properties? Although no specific values have been set for adults, research indicates a protective effect from 15mg to 30mg in a day. Heinz tomato ketchup has approximately 2.7mg per Tbs, spaghetti sauce has 28.7mg per ½ cup, tomato juice has approximately 25mg per cup and in every medium slice of watermelon there is about 14g of lycopene. To boost your lycopene intake you can try a glass of tomato juice or a mug of tomato soup before dinner which has the added benefit of curbing your appetite. You can also make healthy homemade pizza using lower fat cheese, chicken and lots of added vegetables. And as for ketchup, I wouldn't exactly call it a health food, but it can play a role in helping to enhance the flavour of other healthy foods such as lean hamburgers, omega-3 scrambled eggs and yes, even salmon! I think it's safe to say my son is getting his fill of lycopene. To make the most of his ketchup habit I often “spike“ the bottle with a little flax seed oil. The added fat helps with the lycopene absorption and the omega-3 oil helps me justify it's place at the dinner table.
Heidi Smith is a Registered Dietitian from the Health and Performance Centre. She is the author of the book “Nutrition for the Long Run - A nutrition handbook for runners, walkers and active individuals”. Her column runs every Thursday