Tomato paste

Why it’s good for you:  Heart disease, healthy skin, and fibroids

Women average less than 3 ounces of canned tomatoes daily, which is no where near enough. Tomatoes are an excellent source of lycopene, a potent antioxidant found in the red pigment in plants that might be a heart saver. Maintaining high blood levels of lycopene could lower heart disease risk in women by up to 50%. Another study suggests that lycopene also might reduce the risk for fibroid tumors, which affect up to 45% of women.

How to include more in your diet: The first place to start is to consume more lycopene-rich foods, such as tomatoes and tomato products like paste, juice, and sauce. Cooked tomato products have more lycopene than fresh tomatoes. One study showed that lycopene is absorbed 2.5 times better from tomato paste than from fresh tomatoes. You’ll need seven servings or more a week, each containing at least 10 milligrams or the amount of lycopene in about 1.5 Tablespoons of tomato paste or two fresh tomatoes. The redder the fruit, the higher the lycopene, so add vine-ripened tomatoes to salads and sandwiches, since they have more lycopene than tomatoes picked green and allowed to ripen later. Add tomato paste and sauce or canned tomatoes to soups and sauces. For a quick snack, spread tomato-based pizza on a toasted English muffin, top with low-fat cheese, and broil until cheese bubbles.