Healthy eating :

Tomatoes

Food, before being consumed, first, should have the aroma as a draw. Then it’s the appearance that brings on the temptation. Tomato has been blessed with the brightest of red to capture the eye and hold its spellbound. If the colour red tempts then tomato’s red-orange does it many times over. Apparently, its taste is equally appealing.

We have come to associate our meals with the bright-looking vegetable, tomato, on a daily basis. We cannot do without tomato sauce for our cooking or eating fried fish, meats, chips or when munching savouries. The sweet and sour flavour is a worldwide favourite and therefore today the tomato takes priority in practically all enticing recipes in the global gourmet arena.

Starting with the basics, tomatoes contain large amounts of vitamin C, providing 40 percent of the daily value (DV). They also contain 15 percent DV of vitamin A, 8 percent DV of potassium, and 7 percent of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of iron for women and 10 percent RDA for men.

The red pigment contained in tomatoes is called lycopene. This compound appears to act as an antioxidant, neutralizing free radicals that can damage cells in the body. Only recently, studies have revealed that lycopene may have twice the punch of another well-known antioxidant betacarotene.

Studies conducted by Harvard researchers have discovered that men who consumed 10 servings of tomatoes a week, or the equivalent to 10 slices of pizza, can cut the risk of developing prostate cancer by a formidable 45 percent. However, its benefits are not limited to the prostate.

Italian researchers have found that those who consume more that 7 servings of raw tomatoes lower the risk of developing rectal colon or stomach cancers by 60 percent. Israeli researchers have found that lycopene is a powerful inhibitor of lung, breast, and endometrial cancer cells. Research has also indicated that the lycopene in tomatoes can help older people stay active longer.

New research is beginning to indicate that tomatoes may be used to help prevent lung cancer. Two powerful compounds found in tomatoes-coumaric acid and chlorogenic acid-are thought to block the effects of nitrosamines. These are compounds that not only are formed naturally in the body, but also are the strongest carcinogen in tobacco smoke. By blocking the effects of these nitrosamines, the chances of lung cancer are reduced significantly.

When choosing your tomatoes, be sure to pick those with the most brilliant shades of red. These indicate the highest amounts of betacarotene and lycopene. Though raw tomatoes are great for you, cooking them releases even more of the benefits. Lycopene is located in the cell wall of the tomato, so by cooking in a bit of oil, this healing compound is more fully released.

In addition cooking the tomato in olive oil allows your body to absorb the lycopene better. Don’t worry about the availability of fresh tomatoes. Tomatoes don’t lose any of their nutritional value in the high heat processing , making canned tomatoes and tomato sauce are both just as viable and beneficial as fresh tomatoes.

Now that vegetables are priced reasonable and freely available at super markets and weekly polas, we women, who are acclaimed super, marketing experts, should look at selecting what’s healthy and nutritious for the family and ourselves.

It’s always good to know what we eat because when it comes to food, ignorance is not bliss; it can take you and your loved ones on a fast and furious ride to the hospital or six feet under, unless you take the responsibility and the effort to learn what to eat and what not to.

Remember to tuck in a kilo of the brightest red tomatoes, in your grocery bag!

CF