Nutrition

Summertime® Gourmet Salsa is missing something that most store-bought salsa have -- salt.

    Unlike most processed salsas, all-natural Summertime® Gourmet Salsa has less than half the salt of other salsas, but way more flavor. It is also low in carbohydrates, has no fat or preservatives and uses a special process to enhance the flavor of its ingredients.

"Processed tomato products are a great, natural source of Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant found naturally in products like salsa," said Dr. Betty Greer, Associate Professor in Nutrition at the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Office.

Antioxidants, like Lycopene, help renew the body and fight off diseases like prostate cancer, Greer said. "In fact, men who ate 10 or more servings of these products reduced their risk of prostate cancer by 35%," she said.

Furthermore, Lycopene protects the heart, lungs, eyes and many diseases of the aging. Several studies suggest that people with the highest levels of Lycopene in their bodies used fewer canes and walkers and could complete common daily living functions better, Greer said.

Yet the Lycopene isn’t absorbed in digestion unless you eat it with fat, she added. "The Lycopene is fat soluble so it needs a little fat to help the body absorb it. That’s a great excuse to eat a few corn chips with your salsa," Greer said with a laugh.