Children aged 4 to 10 were at particular risk from exposure
The next time you put on a pot of tomato sauce for pasta, give yourself a pat on the back. You're creating a healthful meal. Cooking tomatoes boosts the amount of cancer-fighting antioxidants in them by up to 62 percent, say researchers at Cornell University. Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that's abundant in tomatoes, may prevent as well as treat several types of cancer. Processing tomatoes makes the lycopene more potent, so canned and cooked products such as spaghetti sauce pack an even more powerful punch than the fresh, raw variety.