This bright red food is mistaken for a vegetable, as it's most commonly eaten with savory items, but it’s actually a fruit. As a native of southern and central America, I know tomatoes are now widely popular across the globe. Tomatoes are low-calorie and low-carbohydrate fruits, which are some of the tastiest and healthiest. Read on to learn about the incredible health benefits of tomatoes!
A tomato is a fruit that is also considered a vegetable due to its low sugar content as compared to other fruits. There is no other fruit as versatile as tomatoes. Scientifically known as Solanum lycopersicum, tomatoes today are extensively used in a wide variety of dishes worldwide.
Tomatoes originated in western South America. The Spanish colonization of America and Central America caused tomato cultivation to spread. Europeans used the tomato plants mainly for decoration. It was only during the 17th and 18th centuries that tomatoes became a part of Spanish and Italian cuisines. Today, tomatoes are popular worldwide and have become a staple for most of us.
Tomato is known as ‘Tamatar‘ in Hindi, ‘Rama Mulaga‘ in Telugu, ‘Thakkali‘ in Tamil and Malayalam, ‘Tameta‘ in Gujarati, ‘Toamaatar‘ in Bengali, and ‘Tamoto‘ in Marathi.
– India is the second-largest producer of tomatoes in the world
– Tomato was initially thought to be poisonous by the Europeans
– They come in a wide array of colors such as red, pink, white, black, purple, brown, green, and yellow
– Tomatoes are in the top ten fruits and vegetables for containing levels of pesticide residue
Health Benefits of Tomatoes
Raw tomato juice is a superfood thanks to all the vitamins and minerals present in it. Tomatoes contain vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin K, as well as significant amounts of vitamin B6, folate, and thiamine. It is also a good source of potassium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and copper.
Additionally, it contains dietary fiber, protein, and several other antioxidants, such as lycopene. The antioxidant properties of lycopene are quite resistant to heat and cooking. Thus, cooking tomatoes can help make lycopene more bioavailable, meaning it can be easily taken up into the body’s cells.
The health benefits of tomatoes include better vision, good digestive health, and lower blood pressure. It can help manage diabetes, skin problems, and urinary tract infections. Furthermore, tomatoes can stimulate blood circulation, lower cholesterol levels, improve fluid balance, protect the kidneys, detoxify the body, prevent premature aging, and reduce inflammation.
Let’s look deeper into some of the major health benefits of tomatoes.
Improves Heart Health
Lycopene is one of the healthiest carotenoids present in foods.
Studies suggest that high levels of lycopene in the blood can help lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases. This is mainly due to the antioxidant properties of lycopene, which prevent LDL oxidation in the body. LDL oxidation occurs when LDL cholesterol particles react with free radicals generated in the body. Studies show that the oxidation of LDL particles significantly contributes to the development of atherosclerosis, which can eventually cause heart attacks and strokes.
Prevents Cancer
The particularly high concentration of lycopene, along with antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E, makes tomatoes an effective cancer-fighting superfood. The antioxidant properties of tomatoes protect against DNA damage that can lead to cancer. Different studies have shown that higher consumption of tomatoes and tomato-based products can lower the risk of cancer, especially prostate, lung, and stomach cancer.
Restores Lung Damage
Several studies suggest that tomatoes may restore lung damage caused by smoking. Nitrosamines are one of the carcinogenic compounds present in cigarette smoke. Organic compounds such as coumaric acid and chlorogenic acid present in tomatoes fight against such carcinogenic compounds.
Additionally, studies show that consuming a tomato-rich diet containing high levels of lycopene can lower the risk of certain types of cancer, including lung cancer.
Maintains Eye Health
Vitamin A present in tomatoes maintains eye health and prevents eye disorders such as night blindness. Tomatoes also contain lutein and zeaxanthin, which may help reduce your risk of macular degeneration and cataracts later in life.
Additionally, lycopene and vitamin C present in tomatoes also help maintain eye health.
Promotes Digestion
Tomatoes have a large amount of fiber, which can bulk the bowels and reduce symptoms of constipation. A healthy amount of fiber helps stimulate peristaltic motion in the smooth digestive muscles and release gastric and digestive juices. This can regulate your bowel movements, thereby improving your overall digestive health and preventing conditions like colorectal cancer.
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Improves Skin Health
According to several studies, lycopene acts as a natural sunscreen that protects you against UV radiation. Furthermore, tomatoes and its products enable the skin to absorb oxygen and prevent the signs of aging. Additionally, vitamin C present in tomatoes can brighten your skin when you apply it topically on your skin.
How Can you Include Tomatoes in your Diet?
We usually mix tomatoes with other ingredients to enhance the flavor of the dish. You can use it in stews, soups, sauces, curries, and gravies. Italian cuisine wouldn’t be the same without the use of tomatoes in their pasta and pizzas!
Tomato juice is gaining immense popularity as a popular health drink. Opt for organic tomato juice, as it contains more phenolic compounds than conventionally grown crops. You can use regular tomatoes, mainly cherry tomatoes, for preparing salads and sandwiches. Additionally, you can eat fresh tomatoes directly or use them to make tomato juice, tomato paste, ketchup, and tomato sauce.
Here are a few ways in which you can use tomatoes:
- Use ripe tomato pulp on your scalp for 30 minutes before washing to treat dandruff, hair loss, and an itchy scalp.
- Apply tomato juice to your face to remove dead skin cells and get glowing and smooth skin.
- Apply a mixture of tomato, oatmeal, and yogurt to your face and neck to exfoliate your skin and clear blemishes.
Thus, all these numerous health benefits of tomatoes and their versatility make them a must-have in your diet.
What are your favorite ways of enjoying tomatoes? Let us know in the comments below!
Nutritional Information
100 grams of tomato provide 18 calories. Carbohydrates: 3.9g (dietary fiber: 1.2g, sugar: 2.6g), protein: 0.9g, fat: 0.2 g (saturated fat: 0.03g), sodium: 5mg. And a percentage daily value of vitamin A (17%), vitamin C (23%), iron (2%), and calcium (1%, (based on a 2000-calorie diet).
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