It is thought that the first tomatoes to arrive in Europe may not even have been red, but instead sported a yellow hue, as the earliest writings describing this fruit depicts it as “pomo d’oro”. This translates as “golden apple”. In Valencia, Spain, tomatoes are so popular that they have their own annual festival – called La Tomatina – where people throw 150 000 tomatoes at one another.
While it is quite widely known that tomatoes sport various health benefits, we can bet you never knew these dinner-conversation tidbits about tomatoes. Read on to find out why you should definitely include these nutritious foods into your diet, preferably in more ways than one. For a delicious recipe with hake, pesto and cherry tomatoes, click on the link.
1. Healthy skin
One of the latest products on the market for skincare is tomato seed oil. This product is packed with a substance that fights free radicals and signs of aging. The lycopene in tomatoes makes skin less sensitive to UV light damage, a leading cause of fine lines and wrinkles. Tomato seed oil is also used for the treatment of mild to severe skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. When fresh tomato juice is applied to the skin, the naturally occurring beta-carotene is known to protect the skin against sun damage. Tomato juice also helps to shrink your pores and acts as a powerful astringent. Include it in your next homemade face mask to benefit from these properties.
2. Cancer prevention
New medical research suggests that the consumption of lycopene, or what gives this fruit their red coloring, may prevent cancer. Lycopene is part of the family of pigments called carotenoids that, as with essential amino acids, are not produced by the human body. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant, with vitamins C and E, and can protect us from the free radicals that degrade many parts of the body. Cooked tomatoes have higher concentrations of lycopene than non-cooked tomatoes.
3. Heart health
Tomatoes have been shown to help to lower total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Tomato extracts have also been shown to help to prevent the unwanted clumping together of platelet cells in the blood – this is especially important in lowering the risk of heart problems such as atherosclerosis. Tomatoes have phytonutrients that provide us with heart-protective benefits. These are esculeosides, the avanoid chalconaringenin and a fatty-acid molecule called 9-oxo-octadecadienoic acid.
4. Healthy hair
The vitamins in tomato juice add the natural shine back to dull, lifeless hair.
Want to condition your hair using natural tomato juice? Try the following steps:
- Apply a small amount of tomato juice to your scalp and hair after you wash it with shampoo.
- Leave it in for three to five minutes before rinsing it out.
- The tomato juice should increase the acidic pH of your hair, allowing it to regain some of its vibrancy.
Quick facts about tomatoes
- There are 10 000 known varieties of this fruit.
- The scientific term for the common tomato is lycopersicon lycopersicum, which means “wolf peach”.
- You actually shouldn’t store ripe tomatoes in the fridge, as cold temperatures lessen their flavor.
Deathly greens:
Tomato leaves and stems are poisonous. This is because this fruit belong to the nightshade family and all leaves and stems in this family contain atropine and other toxic tropane alkaloids. Unripe, green tomatoes also contain small amounts of these toxins and, as such, should never be eaten raw.
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