Don’t you just love the juicy, red tomatoes that add taste and beautify your salads, pizza, sandwiches, and so on? Apart from this, tomatoes are plump up with nutrients that provide enormous benefits to your body. We all know that tomato is a fruit but it is often categorized as a vegetable, and has been an integral ingredients of various cuisines. The mature and ripe tomato is commonly red in color, it can also come in different colors, such as yellow, green, orange, and purple. Go through this article to find out the plethora of health benefits of tomato.
A Little About Tomato
Tomato, known as ‘Tamatar’ in Hindi, is the edible fruit of the tomato plant, which is scientifically known as Solanum lycopersicum. It belongs to the family Solanaceae and is native to Central and South America. Its use as food originated in Mexico. Adding tomato in your diet not only add flavor to your food, but also boost your health in many ways. Tomatoes grow widely in temperate climates across the world, they are easy to cultivate, and grow very quickly. There are different ways to consume tomatoes, including raw in salads, as juice, as soup or ketchup, and is also used in making cocktails. Let’s find out how eating tomato proves to beneficial for the human health.
Top 10 Interesting Facts About Tomato
- Due to their relation to the deadly nightshade plant, tomatoes were thought to be poisonous.
- Tomato was never mentioned either in bible or in the complete works of Shakespeare.
- There are over 10,000 varieties of tomatoes and come in different colors.
- La Tomatina is an annual festival in Spain, where people throw 150,000 tomatoes at each other.
- Tomato juice is the official state drink of Ohio, USA. That’s how much they love tomatoes.
- In the Heinz Tomato Ketchup factory, if the tomato sauce pours at more than 0.028 mph, it is considered to be too runny and rejected.
- The largest single tomato plant in the world was found at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida, USA, covering an area of 56.73 meters sq.
- The largest tomato was picked in Oklahoma, USA, in 1986, weighing over 3.5 kg.
- Though tomato is a fruit, in the late 1800s, the government classified it as a vegetable foe taxation purposes.
- China is the largest producer of tomato in the world, followed by USA.
Nutritional Value of Tomato
The nutritional value of 100 grams of tomato is given below:
- Energy: 18 Kcal
- Carbohydrates: 3.9 g
- Sugars: 2.6 g
- Dietary Fiber: 1.2 g
- Fats: 0.2 g
- Protein: 0.9 g
- Vitamin A: 42 μg
- Beta-carotene: 449 μg
- Lutein zeaxanthin: 123 μg
- Thiamine: 0.037 mg
- Niacin: 0.594 mg
- Vitamin B-6: 0.08 mg
- Vitamin C: 14 mg
- Vitamin E: 0.54 mg
- Vitamin K: 7.9 μg
- Vitamin A: 42 μg
- Magnesium: 11 mg
- Manganese: 0.114 mg
- Phosphorus: 24 mg
- Potassium: 237 mg
- Other Constituents
- Water: 94.5 g
- Lycopene: 2573 µg
Impressive Health Benefits of Tomato
Lycopene is a constituent that gives tomato its red color, and is a great source of antioxidants. It fights against the free radicals in our body that may lead to the formation of cancerous cell. The lycopene in tomato has been found to defend against different forms of cancer, including prostrate, cervical, stomach, rectum, pharynx, and esophageal cancers. The high concentration of carotenoids in tomato may also prevent the development of breast cancer.
Powerhouse of Vitamins and Minerals
Tomato is a rich source of vitamins and minerals. It can provide around 40% of the daily vitamin C requirement and acts as an powerful antioxidant. Presence of vita,min A, potassium and, even iron in tomato help in proper functioning of our body. Potassium maintains the nerve health, while iron aids in blood circulation. Tomato also contain vitamin K, which is necessary for blood clotting and controlling bleeding.
Tomato Benefits for Heart
Is tomato good for your heart? Yes, it prevents serum lipid oxidation that forms plaques in the arteries leading to its rupture. The fiber and vitamin B-3 (Niacin) in tomato helps in lowering the level of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in our blood, and thereby protects the heart from diseases. It also checks the deposition of fats in our blood stream.
Improves Your Eye Health
Vitamin A, known to improve eyesight, is found abundantly in tomatoes. Deficiency of vitamin A may lead to night blindness. This vitamin also cuts the risks cataract formation and macular degeneration. Being a powerful antioxidant as well, vitamin A fights against the negative effect of free radicals on our eyes that may lead to many vision problems.
Lowers Blood Pressure
Consumption of tomato has been found to drop the rate of blood pressure, thus preventing hypertension or high blood pressure. Potassium in tomato acts as vasodilator, which reduces the stress in blood vessels and arteries. The lycopene content of tomato also drops both systolic and diastolic limit.
Helps in Digestion
Tomato is great source of fiber, which are effective in removing the toxins from our body. It keeps the digestive system healthy and prevents stomach disorders, including constipation and diarrhea. Furthermore, the fiber bulk the bowel and regulate its movement. It also facilitates peristaltic motion in the smooth digestive muscles, and helps in releasing gastric and digestive juices. Therefore, tomato aids in overall function of our digestive system.
Benefits of Tomato for Weight Loss
Tomatoes are low in calories and if less calorie is consumed, then it digest faster, instead of storing as fat. It also has high fiber content that prevents the absorption of fat molecules. Furthermore, they improve lipid metabolism, restricts fat accumulation, and thus help you in losing weight. Additionally, tomato contains high amount of water that makes you full, and relieves hunger pangs.
Boost Immune System
Owing to its lycopene and carotene content, tomato works best in improving your immunity. It easily combats the highly contagious common diseases, including common cold and influenza. Therefore, the nutrients in tomato are known to be effective immune boosting agents.
Tomato Benefits for Skin
Is tomato good for your skin? The answer won’t disappoint you. From acting as natural sunscreen to preventing the signs of aging, tomato is wholly beneficial for your skin. It treats open pores, increase the absorption of oxygen by the skin which prevents the sign of aging, and the vitamin brighten your skin. Wait, there’s more. It relieve the sign of stress on skin, has astringent properties, and even fights cellular damage. Tomato has all the properties that you ever ask for getting a bright glowing skin.
Tomato Benefits for Hair
Hold on tight, you are about to get both glowing skin and lustrous hair with the help of tomato. The vitamin A, B, C and E in tomato work incredibly on your hair. They cure hair fall, are amazing natural conditioner, and further manages dry and frizzy hair. Abundance of protein in tomato make your hair smooth, shiny and flexible.
Impressive indeed! So, you know why it is a healthy option to add tomato in your diet. If you already do then, congrats you are in robust condition. Stay Healthy!