Health Benefits of Tomatoes

Grape tomatoes

Tomatoes are packed full of vitamins and nutrients that are beneficial to your health. This antioxidant-rich vegetable contains large amounts of lycopene, which has great cancer-fighting properties. Other vitamins and nutrients found in tomatoes offer benefits, such as reducing heart disease, cholesterol, and infections.

Yes, it helps your skin also!

Externally, tomatoes help improve the texture and color of the skin. Adding tomatoes to your diet is a great way to improve your overall health. However, in your low-carb, Keto journey, you must minimize consumption as the carbs can quickly add up.  I eat tomatoes daily, especially during the summer, but I make sure I count them in my macros.

Tomatoes are rich in the vital antioxidant, lycopene. Tomatoes contain a higher concentration of lycopene than any other vegetable. This nutrient is important because it flushes free radicals out of the body. These free radicals can cause cancerous cell formation. By adding lycopene to your diet, you decrease your chances of developing cancer. Lycopene is not naturally produced in the body, so it is important to get it from tomatoes or other lycopene-rich foods.

Health Benefits for Men

As a male, I’ve always been told to eat tomatoes, but never knew why until recently.  According to a UK study, eating tomatoes helps lower the risk of prostate cancer; at least that is what the latest research suggests.  During the summer in Greece, you will only find tomato salads in almost all homes and restaurants.  Remember, we try to eat a market-inspired diet, so we eat what is in season, and the summer is the best season for the juiciest tomatoes.

The island of Santorini produces amazing tomatoes, most likely attributed to its volcanic soil which is rich in minerals and nutrients.  They make these amazing tomato croquet, which I have yet to convert to Keto, but still trying to test and produce similar tomato croquet.

There are so many kinds of varieties of tomatoes, too many to list here.  But always try to find them at farmers’ markets rather than the grocery store.  The ones in the grocery stores cannot be compared to the ones you get locally.

Greek tomatoes

Now, you probably think that you would have to eat tomatoes raw to get the full benefits of the lycopene. This is not true. Unlike many nutrients, the bioavailability of lycopene in tomatoes increases when they are heated. This allows you to prepare tomatoes in soups or sauces, and still get the same amount of lycopene. You should try my eggs with tomatoes recipe that is out of this world.   If you prefer uncooked tomatoes, you can slice them up for your salads, like in my Greek village salad recipe, or sandwiches using low-carb wraps or eat them alone. For those of you who prefer tomato juice, you can drink one glass each day for the recommended amount of lycopene.

Nutrients

Tomatoes also contain other great nutrients for the body. Vitamin B3, or niacin, lowers high cholesterol and triglycerides. Vitamin B6 lowers the risk of heart problems by breaking down homocysteine, which causes damage to the blood vessel walls. Tomatoes also purify the blood, protect from infections, and protect the liver from cirrhosis. Vitamin A in tomatoes improves vision, and aids in the prevention of macular degeneration and night blindness.

Greek tomatoes

Not only beneficial for internal health, but tomatoes can also improve the condition of your skin. When applied to the face, the nutrients in tomatoes minimize the size of large pores. Used as an astringent, tomatoes can also clear up oily skin and prevent acne. You can also soothe burned skin by applying a mixture of tomato juice and yogurt to the burned area. This mixture cools and softens the skin.  I bet you never knew that!

Final Considerations

Both internally and externally, the advantages of tomatoes are abundant. Filled with lycopene, vitamin A and C, tomatoes improve organ function and decrease your chances of cancer. Just one glass of tomato juice each day contains enough antioxidants to improve your overall health. I wonder if that is why I like Bloody Mary’s.

For those of you who dislike tomato juice, tomatoes can also be eaten raw or cooked into soups or sauces. No matter how you add tomatoes to your diet, you can make a difference in your health.