Healthy Eating

Sports Nutritionist Roz Kadir, Vice Chairman of Governors at The Institute for Optimum Nutrition, provides many athletes, both professional and amateur, with specialised nutritional support.

Roz was a nutritionist for the England Rugby team ahead of their World Cup win in 2003.

Here’s what she had to say:

"All these new sauces contain a high percentage of tomatoes, a food with many nutritional benefits. As the ingredients are locally sourced, their nutrients are kept intact with the added benefit of improving their flavour.

100gms of tomato contains only 20 calories but it has a high concentration of Vitamins A and C, with calcium and iron. No other food has as much Lycopene as the tomato, a nutrient that has received a lot of attention from researchers in recent years.

Lycopene is more easily absorbed from cooked tomatoes and some studies have shown that it can help reduce the effects of sunburn by up to 40%. It shouldn’t be used in place of sun protection but can be a useful aid to parents taking children on holiday to sunny places.

According to another study (Journal of Nutrition) women who eat a diet high in lycopene have a reduced risk of heart disease.

And a study at Harvard University showed that men who eat 6.5grams or more of lycopene-rich tomatoes a day have a 21% reduced risk of developing prostate cancer.

For those looking to eat healthily, these sauces are ideal.

They make a good vegetable complement to a pasta dish and, with some protein, make up a nutritious meal.

If you’re looking to maximise the health benefits, you can cook these sauces with wholegrain pasta. The complex carbohydrates release energy into your body more slowly to help keep you going for longer. That’s great for keeping you alert at your desk or providing a good energy reserve for sports or a session at the gym.