Any nutrients left after a tomato is cooked?

While many veggies pack a powerful nutrition punch in their raw form, some vegetables like bright red tomatoes may fare better when they are cooked. Tomatoes are rich in the antioxidant lycopene which has been associated with repairing cellular damage and reducing the incidence of some cancers and heart disease. In fact, a Harvard University study found that when men ate more than 10 servings of cooked tomatoes each day, they had a 35 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who consumed lesser amounts. When a tomato is cooked, its cell walls, which contain the lycopene, become broken down allowing for more lycopene to be released and then absorbed by your body. This translates into more disease-fighting protection for your health. Even though you can get lycopene in a supplement form, by consuming whole processed tomatoes you also get the fruit’s fiber and a hefty dose of Vitamin C, a few nutrients that a capsule leaves out.