Ah, this amazing familiar stranger is a tomato!
The red vegetable, which is actually a berry, can be green, and yellow, and brown.
Its benefits are so obvious that they prefer not to remember the harm. For the time being. That is why it is imperative to know about the potential danger to the health of this positive "apple of love".
The ancient Aztecs knew about the benefits of tomatoes. Actually, they taught the Europeans to use this solanaceous culture for food, despite the persistent resistance of overseas guests. The oldest Indian tribes knew not only about the nutritional, but also about the medicinal properties of tomatoes. For example, they used tomato juice for the treatment of children's eye diseases and rhinitis.
Of course, trying to repeat the experience of prehistoric pediatrics today is not worth it. But the excellent preventive and curative properties of tomato, proven by modern medicine, is simply necessary to use.
A modern educated person who takes responsibility for his own health is simply obliged to know about the role that tomatoes play in the physiology of the human body, and what their benefits and harms are.
Who will the tomato help?
Dietitians should start talking about tomatoes and about what their benefits and harms are. "Oh, tomatoes!" they say enthusiastically. And they begin to extol the undoubted benefits of red-skinned vegetables. The list of health and life-threatening diseases that tomato successfully confronts is as follows:
• diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
• osteoporosis;
• crayfish.
Wonderful tomato can be an excellent prevention of these ills. If speak about diseases of the heart and blood vesselsthen the red vegetable is able to protect atherosclerosis, ischemia, hypercholesterolemia. It's all about his ability to reduce the level of "bad" cholesterol and triglycerides (a special class of neutral fats). Elevated levels of triglycerides, for example, indicate the risk of developing diabetes, cirrhosis and hepatitis of the liver, vascular thrombosis, renal failure, is threatened by obesity. Tomato juice and natural tomato paste prevent platelet sticking, that is, directly impede the development of deadly heart attacks.
Prevention of osteoporosis - One of the most remarkable therapeutic properties of a tomato. Bone health should not be dealt with at the moment when negative age-related changes in bone tissue have already gained momentum and become irreversible. Should begin in advance. For example, use tomatoes regularly! The fact is that tomatoes contain lycopene in high concentration. It is this antioxidant that is able to prevent osteoporosis, which affects thousands of women after menopause.
Lycopene prevents age-related destruction of the density and structure of bone tissueand a high content of vitamin C in tomato strengthens the skeleton even more. So endocrinologists and orthopedists sing the fame of the tomato after nutritionists.
Another wonderful property of tomato lycopene - prevention of age-related ophthalmic problems. After fifty years, the danger of the development of dystrophy of the yellow spot increases many times. This disease leads to early blindness and significantly impairs the quality of life.
Prevention oncological diseases and their cure is one of the most acute and most pressing medical problems. The most terrible disease of our time is cancer. It can be prevented as much as possible by introducing tomato dishes into the diet. True, you should not hope that tomatoes will cure a deadly disease. But they can fight the prerequisites of the disease very effectively. In this sense, tomatoes are full-fledged oncoprotectors, combining powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It is proven that tomatoes prevent prostate cancer, prevent the development of lung, breast and pancreas. A substance has been isolated that owns all the glory of a fighter against insidious cancer cells: it is alpha-tomatin. Therefore, talking about tomatoes and about what their benefits and harms are, oncologists are unanimous: good, good and good and good.
Useful properties of tomato
The list of beneficial properties of tomatoes, which have a beneficial effect on the human body, can be continued. So, tomatoes help to cope with obesity. If you constantly include them in the diet, you can really lose weight three to four kilograms. A hundred grams of tomato is only 22 kcal, while two or three, or even one fleshy vegetable are enough for saturation! Its active ingredients burn fat cells with fury, so losing weight with tomatoes is easy and tasty. And all thanks to chromium: it is this element that reduces the feeling of hunger and helps prevent nightly raids on the refrigerator.
In addition, the "golden apples" help to restore the broken metabolic processes, and therefore, help with diabetes. Fiber, coupled with restorative properties allow the tomato to successfully cope with such a delicate problem as constipation.
Tomatoes inhibit the risk of developing the disease of the century - insidious and incurable Alzheimer's disease. A high level of melanin allows you to slow down the aging of the brain, restore its cells. It is no coincidence that tomato lovers live for a very long time, are distinguished by enviable health and good mood.
Traditional medicine prescribes the use of tomato pulp and juice as an effective antiseptic. Tomato perfectly heals and cleans purulent skin lesions. It contains substances that completely suppress bacterial microflora and contribute to the speedy healing of wounds. With varicose veins you should put the tomato mass on the veins, and, securing with an elastic bandage, leave such a compress for the night. The effect will be noticeable after a few days, although it is certainly not worth being limited to "tomato lotions" in the treatment of varicose veins.
It is worth noting that the antioxidant properties of tomatoes in the complex protect not only our bones, heart, vessels, but also the liver, kidneys, nerves, as well as improve blood quality.
A storehouse of vitamins
The closest relatives of eggplants, potatoes, tobacco and peppers (all of them are also nightshade), tomatoes are a storehouse of vitamins, minerals, antioxidant substances. It's just some kind of miracle! Judge for yourself:
• fantastically high concentration of vitamin C;
• rich stock of beta-carotene;
• diverse composition of phytonutrients: fatty acids, flavonoids, crotinoids, hydroxycinnamic acids (including caffeic and ferulic acid), glycosides;
• high iron content;
• natural sugars (fructose, glucose);
• pectin;
• provitamin A (one of the most effective antioxidants);
• cellulose;
• vitamins of group E, B;
• folic acid;
• organic acids: malic, citric, oxalic, amber, tartaric;
• the most important minerals: magnesium, sodium, calcium, chlorine, iron, sulfur, phosphorus, iodine.
Marked the benefits of tomatoes in the process of blood formation. People suffering from anemiaThis magic vegetable will help more than the usual recommended chicken meat, milk and fish. It improves memory, adds strength, returns mood.
Fruit acids found in tomatoes, increase appetite, improve the digestive process. The content of vitamin C tomato is in the same row as the lemon and orange. All this allows us to assess the role of tomatoes, their benefits and harm rather in a positive context. A delicious, juicy, fleshy tomato can be without exaggeration called a vegetable of life and good health.
It should be noted that it is very important to use not only raw, but also thermally processed tomatoes. So, most of all lycopene is found in processed fruits - stewed, baked, boiled. Moreover, prolonged heat treatment only increases the concentration and amount of this vital substance. This explains the enormous benefits of tomato paste, sauce, ketchup and tomato juice. But from raw vegetables lycopene is better absorbed along with the oil. That is why salads containing tomatoes must be filled with a spoon of olive or vegetable oil.
Spoon of tar: the harm of tomatoes
Of course, in talking about tomatoes and how their benefits and harms are, it is impossible to ignore the negative effects that these vegetables can have on the human body. There was a time when a tomato was generally considered poisonous and totally unsuitable for food. The famous historical anecdote tells how the first US President George Washington tried to poison the traitor-cook with tomatoes. The president, by the way, did not notice anything.
Indeed, a tomato contains a certain amount of clicoalkaloid - a complex organic substance consisting of sugars and alkanolides. This substance is called solanine and is contained in the immature fruits and stems of solanaceous crops. Its high concentration can cause gastric discomfort, headache, neurotic disorders. But solanine is contained only in the stems and leaves of the tomato, which are not used for food, as well as in green fruits. Theoretically, green tomatoes can cause these disorders, but in practice such cases are very rare. The main thing is not to lean on salads from unripe tomatoes, and everything will be fine.
But there are still reasons for fear and limitations. The list of real dangers is quite wide:
• allergic reaction;
• diagnosed inflammatory joint disease - arthritis, rheumatism;
• joint damage - gout;
• kidney disease;
• lesions of the stomach in the form of ulcers, gastritis, pancreatitis (in the acute stage);
• acute pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis;
• taking sulfa drugs and anticoagulants;
• cholelithiasis - cholelithiasis, especially in the presence of stones in the gallbladder and ducts.
How important are tomatoes for the body, what are their benefits and harms? Is it possible to ignore the possible harm to the body in the presence of existing diseases in favor of the possible prevention? Hardly. In any case, need advice from your doctor. However, you should know the following (who forewarned is forearmed!).
The abundance of acids that are contained in the "golden apples" irritate gastric mucosa inflamed by an ulcer or gastritis and can cause excruciating pain. Oxalic acid can cause heartburn and generally adversely affect the water-salt metabolism. This explains the strict ban on the use of tomatoes for kidney disease. Choleretic properties of tomatoes can provoke the movement of stones in the bile ducts.
In the presence of the above diseases, tomatoes should be consumed with great caution and only after consulting a doctor. For everyone else, the great news is that the tomatoes on the content of thiamine (organic serotonin) can quite smack ... with chocolate!
Yes, tomatoes are no worse than chocolate coping with depressive states. Doctors recommend them to patients who have experienced mental shocks, are depressed, are in a state of advanced depression. What can we say about the usual "autumn blues"! It often does not depend on the time of year, but it can be easily defeated by an amazing gift of nature - an unmatched tomato.
