The benefits and harms of tomatoes

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Solanaceous tomatoes, a common vegetable in our diet, are now available throughout the calendar year. They are consumed fresh, they are stewed and canned, but they rarely think about whether there is any benefit and harm from tomatoes for the body.

The benefits and harms of tomatoes

What is in a tomato

The benefits of tomatoes for the human body are due to the fact that they are a real storehouse of substances useful for humans that are valuable for the body:

fresh tomato fruits contain a large amount of dietary fiber that a person needs for the proper functioning of the digestive tract,
among the components in the vegetable there is a wide variety of organic acids, including succinic, ascorbic, oxalic, malic, folic, citric,
tomato contains many vitamins and minerals that ensure the normal functioning of all systems of the human body, including: vitamin K, sodium, iron, choline, fluorine, iodine, manganese, copper, retinol, phosphorus, zinc, lutein, calcium, nickel, selenium , bioty, potassium, magnesium, cobalt, beta-carotene,
a useful vegetable contains a valuable flavonoid called quercetin,
The benefits of tomatoes are also indicated by the fact that among the components they contain lycopene, important for the prevention of malignant neoplasms, which has antioxidant beneficial properties that neutralize free radicals, and also creates protection for our body from the effects of oxidative processes and takes control of cholesterol levels.

Tatiana Orlova (Candidate of Agricultural Sciences):
Lycopene is a carotenoid pigment that gives some fruits and vegetables (tomatoes, watermelons) their red color. Thermally processed tomatoes contain more lycopene than raw tomatoes. So, for example, raw tomatoes contain 5-50 mg / ka lycopene, and 500-1500 mg / kg in tomato paste.

The benefits and dangers of tomatoes cannot be said unequivocally, since vegetables cannot compete with those foods that are full of fats and proteins. The effectiveness of their beneficial effects increases when combined with other products. But their calorie content per 100 grams is only 20 kcal, because tomato fruits have useful properties for weight loss, because they are 93.5% water.

However, not every organism can cope with so many components, because doctors warn that tomatoes, the benefits and harms of which are due to individual characteristics, should be present in the diet only in the amount that is necessary.

What are the benefits of tomatoes

The health benefits of tomatoes are that their properties, with moderate consumption of vegetables in food, help to normalize the functioning of organs and systems in the human body.

Digestion

For those who are very fond of meat products, doctors advise using tomatoes to speed up digestion. Vegetables help to reduce the discomfort present when eating heavy meat and minimize the fermentation process in the digestive tract.

Red tomato fruits are necessary for people with low acidity levels to increase the activity of the gastric system.

Tomato pulp starts the process of activating the secretion of gastric juice in the body, which, together with dietary fiber, increases intestinal peristalsis and acts as a means of preventing colitis.

Circulatory system

The beneficial properties of vegetables that can thin the blood are used to prevent varicose veins, atherosclerosis and thrombophlebitis. Regular consumption of tomatoes can lower blood cholesterol levels and eliminate cholesterol plaques that form on the walls of blood vessels. Vegetables are indicated for existing angina pectoris and hypertension.

Heart

Tomatoes are good for the heart muscle

Magnesium with potassium and atrium with iron, which are part of fresh vegetables, which are useful for the human body, normalize and restore the correct functioning of the heart and are indicated for the prevention of pathologies in the functioning of the heart muscle.

Immunity

The ascorbic acid present in the beneficial composition of tomato fruits helps to resist viral infections, which increases immunity and is necessary for the prevention of colds in the off-season. Eating them regularly for those who are often sick can help reduce the risk of respiratory disease.

Tatiana Orlova (Candidate of Agricultural Sciences):
In order to get the daily intake of vitamin C, you need to eat 300 g of tomatoes per day, vitamin A - 50 g of tomato, vitamin B1 - 150 g of fresh tomatoes.

Hemoglobin

The iron-containing component present in a healthy tomato, with constant consumption of the vegetable, maintains the level of hemoglobin at the proper level, improving the process of producing red blood cells and acting as a prophylactic agent against anemia.

Metabolism

The tomato culture has the ability to enhance metabolism and break down fat cells. It is for this reason that vegetables are often the main element in the diet for weight loss. Low-calorie tomato fruits are recommended for inclusion in the diet of people with impaired metabolism, which led to the appearance of extra pounds. The benefits of tomatoes for weight loss are also due to the fact that they activate metabolism to remove excess fluid accumulated in the body, reducing weight.

Respiratory system

Frequent consumption of tomato fruits helps to remove toxic components and mucus accumulated during smoking from the respiratory tract.

Hepatic renal system

Tomatoes, which have diuretic properties, help increase the drainage of bile compounds, reducing the effect on the liver and repairing liver tissue. The sodium contained in vegetables for the kidneys acts as a source of normalization of the salt balance, breaking down the neoplasms (stones and sand) present in the kidneys.

Cancer prevention

One of the useful components of tomatoes, lycopene, contained in a vegetable in a fairly large amount, is recognized by doctors as an effective means of preventing cancer of the digestive system and respiration.

Nervous system

Tomatoes will help get rid of irritability

There are benefits in tomatoes and for the central nervous system for the reason that vegetables contain potent antioxidants that activate regeneration processes in nerve cells.

In addition, regularly consumed tomato fruits bring the emotional background into a stable state, relieving irritability, relieving stress and having a calming effect.

Tomatoes for men and women

The benefits of tomatoes for men and women are associated with the presence in vegetables of those vitamins that have a beneficial effect on the work of male and female bodies.

For men

The benefits of tomatoes for men have provided them with the nickname of a male vegetable in folk medicine. The presence of tomatoes without fail in the diet of men allows you to cure inflammatory processes in the prostate gland.

The health benefits of tomatoes for men are enhanced when combined with broccoli in the diet to resist age-related changes and prevent BPH.

Tomatoes, which provide blood flow, act as a remedy in the fight against erectile dysfunction of the male body. The high concentration of lycopene in vegetables helps to protect the male body from the development of cancerous processes in the prostate gland.

For women

The main benefits of tomatoes for women and their health are in the prevention of breast cancer. Regular consumption of tomatoes is indicated during pregnancy, since the inclusion of vegetables full of vitamins and minerals in the diet of pregnant women ensures the full development of the fetus.

The benefits of tomato juice for women are indispensable if they want to maintain their beauty, including helping to maintain their hair, skin and nails in proper condition.

Tomatoes are beneficial for women's health due to the presence of phytonutrienes in them, which prevent the risk of osteoporosis and joint diseases, which increases during menopause.

Which tomatoes are healthier

The result and effectiveness of activating their beneficial properties directly depends on the rules for eating tomato fruits.

Combination

Tomatoes are best consumed with unrefined oils

Nutritionists recommend eating tomatoes in combination with vegetable fats, which help to fully assimilate the phytonutrienes they contain. Therefore, doctors advise to fill fresh vegetables with unrefined oil or oils that have passed the first cold pressing.

Heat treatment

Scientists have noticed that the greater effectiveness of the usefulness of tomatoes for human health is obtained after heat treatment, which activates the activity of lycopene in boiled vegetables and increases its concentration level. Therefore, among the recommended products are tomato paste, juices and sauces prepared at home.

Varieties

Tomato variety can also play a role in determining the health benefits of vegetables. So, different varieties are different in their biochemical composition, and the largest amount of carotonoids is present not in red, but in orange and yellow fruits.

It should be remembered that unripe green tomatoes contain, albeit in small doses, a poisonous component - solanine. For this reason, it is recommended to eat green fruits after heat treatment or in canned form.

Tatiana Orlova (Candidate of Agricultural Sciences):
Yellow and orange varieties of tomatoes are considered more beneficial for the body. They contain beta-carotene, which protects against malignant tumors and supports heart function. Such tomatoes do not cause allergic reactions like red varieties and hybrids.

Potential harm from vegetables

Regardless of the fact that tomato fruits contain many components beneficial to human health that have a beneficial effect on the work of internal organs and systems, harm from tomatoes when the recommended amount is exceeded can lead to poor health and exacerbation of existing diseases.

With diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

With existing deviations in the work of the gastric and intestinal tracts, when pathological changes in the organs included in these systems are recorded, the harm from tomatoes for health is significant, and their use is contraindicated. In particular, it is forbidden to include vegetables in the diet for those persons who have been diagnosed with increased acidity of the stomach, or have been found to have disorders in the functioning of the renal system.

At the stages of exacerbation of gastritis and ulcers of the stomach and pancreas, attacks of pancreatitis and urolithiasis of the kidneys, the harm from tomatoes to health increases, therefore they should be excluded from the sick person from the diet until the special permission of the doctor.

With a tendency to allergies

Tomato fruits can cause allergic reactions, especially red tomato varieties. For this reason, the amount of vegetables consumed should be regulated in pregnant and lactating women, with due care, the fruits are included in the diet of children with a tendency to allergies.

If the level of uric acidity is exceeded

Tomatoes can be harmful to human health when the diagnosis contains information about increased levels of uric acid, which is a consequence of gout, polyarthritis and rheumatonoid arthritis. Only a doctor can determine whether tomato juice is harmful in this case, and allow a vegetable to be included in the diet for such diseases.