01/23/2019
Tomatoes
Flavorful and juicy with a sweet tang, tomatoes are the most popular fruit to be consistently treated like a vegetable in our diet. They're plentiful year-round, but especially tasteful in the summer months. They are as good for you as they are delicious!- Tomatoes come with all four of the major carotenoids: alpha- and beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene. The carotenoids have individual benefits; they also interact to provide additional health benefits.
- Tomatoes are particularly rich in lycopene, which is thought to have the highest antioxidant activity of all the carotenoids. A study from The University of Montreal found that lycopene was linked to a 31% reduction in pancreatic cancer risk.
- Tomatoes and broccoli together may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. One study showed that prostate tumors grew significantly slower in rats that were fed powdered tomato and broccoli than in rats given a lycopene supplement, just powdered broccoli, or just powdered tomato.
- Tomatoes contain all three high-powered antioxidants: beta-carotene, vitamin E, and vitamin C.
- Eat the skin! Tomato skin contain much of the carotenoids found in tomatoes and most of the flavonols.
- Tomatoes are rich in potassium. Fewer than 2% of Americans consume the recommended minimum -- this may be due to a lack of plant food in our diets. Potassium is known to lower blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessel walls. A cup of tomato juice contains 534 milligrams of potassium, and 1/2 cup of tomato sauce has 454 milligrams!
- According to a study from Ohio State University, when tomatoes are eaten with healthy fats, like avocado or olive oil, the body's absorption of the carotenoid phytochemicals in tomatoes can increase by two to 15 times!
- The fiber, potassium, vitamin C and choline content in tomatoes all support heart health.
- Fresh tomatoes and tomato extracts help lower total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides.
