Tomato is a fruit! Well, I agree that you all are wise as the saying goes “Knowledge is knowing that tomato is a fruit but wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad” Apart from this well-known fact, you definitely have to know some surprising health benefits of tomato which will make you regretful for not using this vegetable more often!
All the credit that tomato gets which makes it superior of all the other vegetables goes to two powerful compounds of tomato which are “lycopene and antioxidants” But, before knowing how these substances can impact our health, let us have a look at a tomato nutritional chart.
Tomato Nutrition (Vitamins And Minerals Present In Tomato Per 100 Grams)
Vitamin- K – 7.9 mcg
Vitamin – C – 14 mg
Vitamin- B6 – 0.332 mg to 0.017 mg
Vitamin – B3 – 0.59 mg
Magnesium – 194 mg to 8 mg
Phosphorous – 356 mg to 14 mg
Zinc – 1.99 mg to 0.07 mg
Iron – 9.09 mg to 0.26 mg
Potassium – 237 mg
Folic acid – 68 ug to 5 ug
Six Amazing Health Benefits Of Tomatoes
It would not be an exaggeration if I say that consuming two tomatoes per day provides you with a solution to almost every health problem. Whether it is healing your skin problems, or shedding those extra calories, or if you are trying to maintain your blood pressure, tomato does it all.
1) For A Good Cardiovascular Health
Lycopene which is the characteristic property of tomatoes helps in widening the blood vessels and helps in an easy facilitation of blood flow. In fact, there has been an interesting rat experiment that was conducted on rats to know the effect of lycopene on heart health.
The experiment proved that those rats that consumed lycopene survived with a good heart health when compared to the rats that did not consume lycopene.
Also, Iron present in tomatoes helps in increasing the red blood cells and aid in a better circulation of blood throughout your body.
2) For Cancer Prevention
The cases of prostate cancer have been increasing over the years and the solution to prevent yourself from being affected with prostate cancer is to include tomatoes in your daily diet.
The antioxidant properties of tomatoes help in preventing your cells from replicating thereby preventing the tumor formation. Tomatoes are so simple; they can be sliced and diced on to an interesting recipe that you prepare.
3) For Soft Glowing Skin
Acquiring a soft glowing skin is not really a tough task. If you have been using various home remedies to bring a significant change to your skin texture, you can try using tomatoes for a change! You just have to cut the tomatoes in two halves and use the slices to gently rub them all over your face.
If you wish to apply a face pack, you can extract the tomato juice and mix it with one tablespoon of honey to make it into a thick paste. Apply this onto your face and leave it for half an hour. Rinse it off with lukewarm water and moisturize your face with the right one that suits your skin texture.
4) How Does Vitamin A Present In Tomatoes Help?
One of the best health benefits of tomatoes is that you do not have to look for various sources of food to improve your eyesight, strengthen your bone health and make your dental health strong.
Tomatoes are enriched with good quantities of vitamin A which serve a major purpose in benefiting all the three health aspects.
Apart from these, any food that consists of good quantities of vitamin A helps in proper muscle growth and helps in repairing the damaged skin cells.
5) Tomatoes For Weight Loss
If you have been looking for ways to lose weight, you can include tomatoes in your diet as they are very low in carbohydrates and calories. Tomatoes are rich in fibers and they are known to speed up the metabolism process.
There are basically two kinds of cholesterol, good and bad! Tomatoes help in increasing the amount of good cholesterol in your body which is why they can provide you with all the required energy, keep you full but they do not make you fat.
6) Improves Your Immune System
Tomatoes contain 14 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams and they are also rich in antioxidants which help in increasing your immunity and protect you from various illness and diseases.
The anti-oxidant properties of tomatoes help in fighting the free radicals which are the harmful chemical substances that are responsible for damaging your healthy cells which are the main reason for you to get susceptible to various diseases.
Caution
Tomatoes can undoubtedly benefit you in numerous ways but consuming this fruit more than a permissible limit can lead to the formation of kidney stones as the oxalate present in tomatoes hardens up to form kidney stones.