Jarred spaghetti sauce is fast, convenient and tasty. Most are basic marinara and don't have additives like food color, preservatives and artificial flavors. Many are high in Vitamins A and C. As far as food choices go they are a very healthy packaged food. Check the labels when buying. A cup of raw, chopped tomatoes (equal to about 1/2 cup of cooked sauce) has only 16 milligrams of sodium and depending on ripeness and the variety of tomato, up to 5 grams of natural suagr. So a 1/2 cup serving of jarred sauce can range from 200 to 770 mg of sodium and as much as 10 grams of sugar. Tomatoes are naturally sweet, so tomato sauce doesn't need added sweeteners to be tasty. The sodium level should be about 350 mg or less per 1/2 cup serving. Spaghetti sauce has a bonus. The powerful antioxidant lycopene is inherent in the tomatoes. Lycopene is supposed to prevent certain cancers, like prostate and breast. It is also said to lower your risk of cardio-vascular disease. Heat and oil enhace lycopenes absorption by the body. So cooked tomato products offer you the best source of lycopene. The best jar sauce I have used is Rao's Marinara, next would be Bove's Marinara, and last I would recommend Colavita Marinara.

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