daniel chigunwe
Tomatoes are one of the most widely used types of produce and for good reason—the health benefits of tomatoes are widespread. Often referred to as vegetables but botanically a fruit, tomatoes are fresh, juicy, sweet, and slightly tart.
Whether eaten fresh or cooked, from the farmers’ market or out of a can, tomatoes taste delicious and make for a very versatile ingredient.
Read on to discover more about the top tomato health benefits, as well as tips on how to incorporate tomatoes into more of your meals.
Tomato nutrition
Tomatoes pack vitamins and minerals that are healthy for you. Here is a look at what is inside one large tomato (about 182 grammes).
Water — 172 grammes
Energy — 32,8 kcal
Protein — 1,6 grammes
Fat — 0,364 grammes
Carbohydrates — 7,08 grammes
Fibre — 2,18 grammes
Sugars — 4,79 grammes
Glucose — 2,28 grammes
Fructose — 2,49 grammes
Calcium — 18,2 milligrammes
Iron — 0,491 milligrammes
Magnesium — 20 milligrammes
Phosphorus —43,7 milligrammes
Potassium — 431 milligrammes
Sodium — 9,1 milligrammes
Zinc —0,309 milligrammes
Copper — 0,107 milligrammes
Vitamins A, B, C, and K
Benefits of tomatoes
In case you needed more reasons to eat tomatoes beyond the fact that they taste great (and are a staple in many cuisines around the world), here are some of the biggest benefits.
Reduce oxidative stress and inflammation
Tomatoes are full of different antioxidants, including lycopene, beta-carotene, lutein, chlorogenic acid, and naringenin, says Aubrey Redd, MS, RDN, LDN, registered dietitian and owner of Aubrey Redd Nutrition.
“Antioxidants help fix the damage from oxidative stress in our body,” explains Amandeep Kalsi, MPH, RD, a registered dietitian in California.
A host of things can cause this oxidative stress, from pollution to UV rays, so it is impossible to avoid.
This is another reason why it is a good idea to include brighter and/or deeper-coloured vegetables and fruits in your diet, as these tend to have a higher number of antioxidants, Kalsi says.
Finally, tomatoes also contain lutein, which helps prevent age-related macular degeneration, chlorogenic acid, which helps lower blood pressure, and naringenin in the tomato skin, which helps reduce inflammation, Redd says.
Support a healthy immune system
Tomatoes can provide you with 25 percent of the recommended Daily Value (DV) of vitamin C, offering 13,7 milligrammes of C per 100 grammes.
Vitamin C, which is yet another antioxidant, helps build your immune cells and supports tissue growth and healing, Redd says.
The regeneration of other antioxidants in the body, like vitamin E, also depends on vitamin C. For vegetarians and vegans who may not get their iron from animal foods, vitamin C is especially important, as it helps the body absorb the iron from plant-based foods more readily.
Improve gut health
Tomatoes are full of insoluble fibre, which attracts water into your stool to soften it and allow for smooth passage out of the body, Kalsi explains.
It is especially beneficial if you have issues with constipation. Soluble fibre is great to include in your diet if you are monitoring your blood glucose (sugar) levels, Redd adds.
It slows down the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, so your blood sugar levels do not spike too quickly — and so you feel satisfied for longer after eating.
“Soluble fibre also works as a prebiotic in our gut,” explains Redd.
“Prebiotics are the foods that are going to nourish our healthy gut bacteria.”
Healthy adult women should aim for 25 grammes of fibre per day (38 grammes for men).A medium tomato provides 1.5 grammes of fibre, made up of insoluble and soluble fibre, both of which are necessary and helpful for digestion.
Lower blood pressure
“Tomatoes are one of the produce items with the highest amount of potassium,” Redd says, with 290mg of this essential mineral in a medium tomato. Potassium plays a role in ensuring our body retains the amount of water it needs to be well-hydrated (it’s an electrolyte), Redd says, and also helps with healthy blood pressure control.
The presence of potassium in your blood causes the kidneys to lower the sodium levels in your bloodstream, which, in turn, lowers your blood pressure, Kalsi explains.
Note that eating too much potassium can negatively affect you if you have kidney disease or are on medications that impact your body’s ability to handle potassium. Speak to your doctor about how much potassium you can have per day if you are not sure.
Boost blood and bone health
A medium tomato contains approximately 15 percent of the recommended DV of vitamin K. According to Redd and Kalsi, vitamin K has a role in forming and activating proteins that are involved in blood clotting and strengthening bone.
According to Redd and Kalsi, studies have found that having more lycopene present in the blood is also associated with a lowered risk of heart disease and even certain cancers.
Support tissue growth and cell function
Folate, also known as vitamin B9, supports normal tissue growth and cell function, Redd and Kalsi say.
For those who are pregnant, folate also helps prevent neural tube defects in the growing foetus during pregnancy, making it especially important for pregnant people to get enough of it.
Enhance respiratory health
Tomatoes are one of the richest fruit sources of lycopene, which is a carotenoid that has been linked to better lung function.
In fact, this antioxidant has also been shown to reduce the risk of lung cancer in smokers.
Promote exercise recovery
Tomato juice is an excellent source of electrolytes, like potassium and sodium, which you lose a lot of when you sweat.
Therefore, drinking tomato juice (or eating tomatoes) after an intense, sweaty workout, can help to replenish you and help you feel rejuvenated instead of exhausted.
Reduce risk of stroke
The lycopene content in tomatoes can also reduce some heart complications.
People who have the highest amounts of lycopene in their blood have been shown to have a reduced risk of stroke.
In fact, one study found that people with the highest amount were 55 percent less likely to have a stroke than those with the lowest amounts of lycopene in their blood.
Improve skin
The principle of oral photoprotection, which is provided by the antioxidants in tomatoes, helps to prevent the harmful effects from UV radiation on the skin.
Studies show that the combination of carotenoids and polyphenols in tomatoes and tomato extract help balance UV-induced skin cell damage. — RealSimple
Bongani Ndlovu