Tomato: The Everday SuperFood
Eating more tomatoes daily could make you healthier, protect your skin from sun damage and lower your risk of contracting modern diseases, according to a review of more than 100 studies.
Sue RaddMar 20, 2023, 12:39 AM
Eating more tomatoes daily could make you healthier, protect your skin from sun damage and lower your risk of contracting modern diseases, according to a review of more than 100 studies.
A large body of evidence already links the consumption of tomatoes and tomato products with lower rates of cancer, especially prostate, but a recent review published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine highlights potential new selling points for this luscious red fruit: better skin, bone and brain health.
Tomatoes in action
The tomato provides such star nutrients as vitamin C, vitamin A (as beta-carotene), fibre and potassium. But it’s the uniquely high offering of lycopene and other such phytonutrients that makes it a superfood. Tomato is the richest source of lycopene in our western diet.
Lycopene is a strong antioxidant with a potency many times greater than vitamin E!
Tomatoes and tomato products also provide anti-inflammatory, antiblood clotting effects, as they are nature’s capsules of multiple active ingredients.
How much should you eat?
In studies of prostate cancer patients, peak blood concentrations were attained within three months of taking lycopene supplements, reaching a plateau that did not differ significantly among doses of 15–90 mg per day. While earlier studies focused on lycopene supplements, recent evidence shows it’s best to use the whole tomato and a 15-mg daily dose may be good to aim for. How can you obtain this from foods?
Processing tomatoes and cooking them with a little oil helps increase absorption of lycopene and other carotenoids into the body.
“Eat a variety of vegetables, especially dark-green and red and orange vegetables and beans and peas,” is a key recommendation in the new US dietary guidelines.
More Articles
Nov 9, 2022
Does God Give Signs?
Is it appropriate to ask God for a sign when you want to know whether or not to do something?
Nov 9, 2022
An Exile in Babylon
Let's look at the historicity and accuracy of a long-disputed, even ignored, archaeological source - the Bible
Nov 9, 2022
Love and Obedience
Which comes first?
Mar 20, 2023
7 Non-Material Ways of Giving
Christmas may be a season of giving, but as Victor Parachin discovers, you don't have to go broke doing so
Mar 20, 2023
Ben Carson: The Faith of a Surgeon
Jarrod Stackelroth explores the life and faith of one ofthe world's bestknown and "gifted" neurosurgeons.