Four very good reasons to eat tomatoes

It may look like the humblest of ingredients that make up your salad bowl – but the tomato is a genuine superhero.

I mean, it even has its very own red cape. Disease and illnesses beware – the red peril is in town.

Not convinced? Well, leading pharmacist is so sure that he has compiled a book highlighting of decades of research into the health-giving properties of the humble fruit. The Red Bodyguard goes at lengths to stress the importance of the humble tomato to our daily diets.

And the findings are certainly interesting. Here at DietPixie, being the helpful lot we are, we have decided to boil down the main points and puree them into five easy points. They are:

1. It can prevent heart disease
It is packed with antioxidants flavonoids and vitamin E, both of which help to keep your heart healthy.

The skin is also rich in lycopene, which can stop the build up of free radicals. Why is this important? Well, free radicals attack soluble fats in the blood. That sounds ok, but not when you realise that when they do the fats solidify and form layers known as plaque, which build up in your arteries and restrict blood flow.

This is obviously not good news for your heart, as when starved of oxygen, it is likely to arrest or lead to a stroke. When this happens, the plaques will break away from the artery walls and cause blood clots. However, tests carried out on the juices of 17 different fruits found that tomatoes were particularly effective at anti-clotting. Bonus!

2. It can prevent cancer
As we mentioned before, tomatoes are one if the richest sources of an exceptionally potent antioxidant called lycopene – the pigment that gives them their red colour. That’s why it is best to choose tomatoes that are darker red.

So how does it battle cancer? Well, once again it is all to do with battling the free radicals that keep causing problems in your body.

In fact, a single lycopene molecule can neutralise 13 free radicals, which, is allowed to build up, can cause cell damage and trigger cancer.

A medium-sized tomato contains 50mg of lycopene per kilo- well over the limit of our recommended daily dosage of five to eight mgs. However, the average person consumes only 1.1mgs a day. A very small amount when you consider how important it is.

Not sure? Okay, a study at Harvard University during the 80s looked at the impact 46 fruits and vegetables had on the development of prostate cancer.

Only four were found to be related to a lower risk of prostate cancer – tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes, tomato juice and tomato puree.

In other words, men who had eaten more than 10 helpings a week were found to have reduced their risk by 30% when compared to those who had one or less. It was found that tomato sauce made by cooking tomatoes in oil was more effective than raw tomato.

3. Fertility
Those damn free radicals again. Did you know they can also reduce your sperm count and make you more infertile if they are allowed to build up?

Just as well tomatoes are around then. Want some proof? Well, in a recent study, 50 infertile people were given eight mgs of lycopene until their sperm counts were normalised or they became pregnant. There was a 36% success rate.

4. Boosts eyesight
Tomatoes are not only rich in the antioxidant Lutein, which is believed to be able to prevent the retina being damaged by pesky free radicals, but research has also shown that eye disease is less frequent in people who eat antioxidant-rich diets.

How much should you eat?
Eat one of these tomato variants with a teaspoon of virgin olive oil three to four times a week.
One cup of tomato soup
One cup of tomato juice
Two cooked tomatoes (medium)
Tomato ketchup (two tablespoons)
Spaghetti sauce (half a cup)
Two tablespoons of puree or paste
Sauce (quarter of a cup)