Tomatoes in the form of sauce deliver heart healthy and disease-fighting compounds. Spices cooked in tomato sauce also offer an increased opportunity to deliver medicine that has the potential of preventing disease. Garlic and oregano act as potent antimicrobial agents through the compounds allicin, thymol, and carvacrol. The cholesterol-lowering effects of garlic are also well-documented, and so are the antioxidant actions of rosmarinic acid found in oregano. The addition of rosemary provides even more rosmarininc acid, as well as other antioxidant compounds. Basil provides even greater antioxidant actions through the flavonoids orientin and vicenin. The volatile oils in basil provide additional antimicrobial effects. Also, eugenol (a phytochemical in basil) has COX-inhibiting activity which is a target enzyme of many pharmaceuticals.The addition of spices to tomato sauce provides a unique means of delivering medicinal compounds to the body. The sauce can be prepared in such a way as to tailor medicine to an individual. For example, someone with an infection would benefit from extra garlic, rosemary and basil; while someone with a history of heart disease may want to include all of the above with an emphasis on the antioxidant herbs, rosemary and basil. Also, signature sauces can add other medicinal foods such as onion and pepper. In this way, tomato sauce acts as a unique medicine cabinet with interconnected beneficial effects on the body.As previously mentioned, the best benefits that tomato sauce has to offer relates to heart disease.The lycopene-rich tomato base with its synergistic nutrients is a powerful protector of heart disease. When the sauce is made in the traditional Italian fashion, with garlic, oregano, parsley and all the other spices, a tremendous amount of antioxidant, antithrombotic, and anti-inflammatory action is added. This list of medicinal actions would make any drug maker envious.
