remember when i went on about antioxidants and i conceded that a lot of them are ruined by your stomach but the ones that aren't do, actually, work?

that is, i conceded that things like orac counts may be misleading, but i insisted that the science underlying oxidation was pretty sound.

so, that was the reason i stuck with tomatoes, but the literature seems to be messy, and it was never really clear what the actual effect was. carotenoids are both impossible for us to synthesize and measurably absorbed into the bloodstream.

so, this tomato/red-pepper mixture is a good idea, for sure - all of that lycopene is of some use, after all, because you can absorb it, it doesn't just get wiped out in your stomach.

and, i'm trying to get a comprehensive list of carotenoids that you can actually absorb...