"But what about Lycopene?" Those who are just starting to understand nutrition mistakenly believe that certain plant foods need to be cooked to "unlock" the hidden nutrition. They are quick to point out that tomatoes, for instance must be heated. But if you blend your tomatoes (as in making a sauce) , then the lycopene is released without heating. Also, Lycopene is found in fresh red plant foods such as mangoes, watermelons, beets, bell peppers, etc. These do not have to be heated to provide lycopene. Even raw tomatoes provide some Lycopene. Second, there is only a certain amount of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and co-factors needed for optimal human functioning anyway and Lycopene is not on the list of must-haves. It can be called a "fringe" factor much like polishing your car is related to how well you get to work on time. The main thing is that you put gas in your car not polish it. Furthermore, those so-called experts (their popular names are withheld but they are on PBS allot and are known to jolt sales of lots of pills and supplements in your "health food" store) will also insist that many vegetables are hard to digest and so must be cooked to "break them down" for human digestion, especially for those with poor digestion. (Meanwhile the best baby food after weaning is blended fruits or vegetables). What they are hinting at is the tougher cellulose wall that protects the food until it is eaten by humans or animals. This can be easily broken down with a Vitamix high power blender or regular blender, S-blade, juiced, or even chewed very well. This way you still maintain the enzymes (Without which the nutrition is useless) which even after a few minutes or less are completely destroyed when heated to cooking temperatures. So next time you hear stuff like this make sure you get all the facts. Remember that a little bit of knowledge is often dangerous and always misleading. (But also remember this fact: that all the food policy written by government is not based on science but for the most part, on the personal habits of those who control the food, medical and pharmaceutical industry. The so-called "wellness" industry made up of all these nutritionists, natural doctors and so forth are an improvement on the horrors and devastation that medicine has wreaked on society , and is heavily documented as the third major cause of death. Few know this. they worship medicine. (Even Benjamin Rush said to beware of Medicine as it will become more powerful a force as religion and must be kept in check), but they are still in the dark when it comes to actually preventing or reversing and chronic disease. All drugs or supplements can do, in very rare cases, is stimulate or "jolt" the body back to an "alive state." But like a strong punch to the head, it usually kills or permanently disables a very weak fighter, and if a proper diet is not instituted then all is lost quickly thereafter.
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