The tomato is a wonderfully popular and versatile fruit that comes in a numerous varieties that vary in shape, size and color. They include; green tomato, small cherry tomatoes, bright yellow tomatoes and Italian pear-shaped tomatoes.
Tomatoes also contain potassium, niacin, vitamin B6, and folate, all of which promote heart health. Potassium has been shown to help reduce systolic blood pressure. Niacin reduces your LDL levels while increasing your HDL cholesterol, which reduces your risk of heart attack. Vitamin B6 and folate help to lower levels of homocysteine in your body.
Tomatoes have a lot of beta carotene. We’ve always associated beta carotene with Vitamin A but even by itself, it leads to many health benefits. Beta carotene can help promote healthy skin by protecting it from harmful UV rays when you are exposed to intense sunlight during the day. Without it, your skin could easily wrinkle and age. It could even lead to the onset of serious skin conditions such as melanomas.
Tomatoes are rich in antioxidants such as vitamin C and lycopene. And what’s more, lycopene is the most potent antioxidant of any common carotenoid. Consuming tomatoes therefore helps to balance out free radicals that we are exposed to from sources such as cigarette smoke and other pollutants, as well as from sugar in our diet, and exposure to sunlight.
You need to regularly consume it in order to enjoy these benefits. As an added bonus, there is no risk over consumption for your health. Just like orange juice, there are no side effects of drinking too much tomato juice, so I suggest you go for it and try it yourself.
Raw tomatoes are great tasting, but if you cook them, more lycopene is released. However, cooking them in olive oil first allows your body to more easily absorb the lycopene.
Eating lots of tomatoes decreases the risk of all these cancers. Heating the tomato products actually increases the bioavailability of lycopene. The lycopene gets released from the cells due to heating. Addition of small oil to the heated recipe further enhances the protective effect.
Tomatoes contain Vitamin C. Some may be surprised to know that vine ripened Tomatoes actually contain twice the amount of Vitamin C than Oranges do. As a matter of fact, small Tomatoes provide 25 mg of Vitamin C. Vitamin C is important as an immune system booster and is also a powerful antioxidant that helps to keep the eyes and the body healthy.
