Tomatoes!

I often just pop a few tomatoes in to my salads or pasta dishes for colour - and though I love the taste of them too, I haven’t really thought of what they do for my health. So let’s take a look today!

A colourful fruit, playing the role of a vegetable

The tomato is a fruit which originated in South America, but is now used all over the world in so many different ways (and usually thought of as a vegetable); from raw on its own, through salads, pasta dishes and stews, all the way to hardly recognisable in ketchup and other sauces!

It’s important to keep in mind that the way we consume tomatoes plays a huge part in what the health benefits actually will be, so does the way and location they’ve been grown, as well as time of year and how they have been packaged and stored. There are also some small differences between different types of tomatoes, like large salad tomatoes vs cherry or plum tomatoes for example.

That being said, let’s look at some of the health benefits of tomatoes:

• Though a large part of tomatoes is made up of water, the remaining parts hold a lot of nutrients; one of the main ones being Vitamin C. A large tomato can provide you with around 30% of your recommended daily Vitamin C intake! Vitamin C as we know by now, if you’ve read any of my other articles, is great for building and maintaining your immune system, helping your body repair itself, and the maintenance of bones and teeth.

• Tomatoes are also rich in fibre, great for your gut health and digestion

• The bright red (or yellow or orange) colour is a clue: tomatoes contain beta carotene, which is converted into Vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is important for your eyesight, helps lower the risk of some types of cancer, and is great for your bone health and your skin.

• Tomatoes contain quite a bit of the antioxidant lycopene, which can help lower the bad type of cholesterol and may even help prevent sunburn!

It is important to mention that some people can be allergic to tomatoes too, so keep this in mind if you are wondering if you may be reacting badly to them. It is also very important to thoroughly rinse tomatoes you have bought before you eat them, because just like other fruit and vegetables, they can contain salmonella.

Do you eat a lot of tomatoes? Which kind do you most often get? How do you use them in the kitchen? Message me on Instagram @TheFromScratchBody!