Tomatoes 105 : Nutrition Facts, Health Benefits, Carbs And Side Effect

The Tomatoes Health Benefits (Solanum Lycopersicum) is a fruit from the nightshade family native to South America. Despite botanical beings a fruit, it's generally eaten and prepared like a vegetable.

Tomatoes are the best significant dietaries source of the antioxidant lycopene, which has been linked to many health benefits, including reduced risks of heart disease and cancer.

These are the also a great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamins K. Usually red when mature, tomatoes can also be many varieties of colours, like yellow, orange, green, and purple. What more, many subspecies of vegetables exist with differents shapes and flavour.

This Article is Tells You Everything you Need to Know About Tomatoes.

Nutrition facts

The water content of tomatoes is around 95%. The other 5% consists mainly of carbohydrates and fibre. Here is the nutrient in a small (100-gram) raw vegetables.

• Calories: 18
• Water: 95%
• Protein: 0.9 grams
• Carbs: 3.9 grams
• Sugar: 2.6 grams
• Fibre: 1.2 grams
• Fat: 0.2 grams

Carbs

1. Carbs comprise 4% of raw tomatoes, which amounts to fewer than 5 grams of carbs for a medium specimen (122 grams).
2. Pure sugar, such as glucose and fructose, made up almost 70% of the carbs content.

Fiber

1. Tomatoes are a good source of fibres. It is providing about 1.5 grams per average-sized plant.
2. Most of the threads (87%) in vegetables are insoluble, in the form of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin (2).

SUMMARY

Fresh tomatoes are low in carbs. The carbs content consists mainly of simple sugars and insoluble fibres. These fruits square measure principally created of water.

Vitamins and minerals

Tomatoes is a good source of several vitamins and minerals:

• Vitamin C. This nutrition is a vital nutrient and inhibitor. One medium-sized tomato can provides about 28% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI).
• Potassium. An essential mineral, potassium is beneficial for blood pressure control and heart disease prevention (3Trusted Source).
• Vitamin K1. Also known as phylloquinone, vitamin K is essential for blood clotting and bone health (4, 5Trusted Source).
• Folate (vitamin B9). One of the B vitamins, folate is necessary for healthy tissue growth and cell function. It's particularly crucial for pregnant women (6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source).

SUMMARY

Tomatoes are a good source of several vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, potassium, vitamin K, and folates.

Other plant Compounds

The content of vitamins and plant compounds in tomatoes can vary significantly between varieties and sampling periods (8, 9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source).

The main plant compounds in tomatoes are:

• Lycopene. Red pigment and antioxidant, lycopene has been extensively studied for its beneficial health effects (11Trusted Source).
• Beta carotene. An antioxidant that often gives a food of yellow and orange hue, beta carotene is converted into vitamin A in your body.
• Naringenin. Found in tomato skin, this flavonoid has been shown to decrease inflammation and protect against various diseases in mice (12Trusted Source).
• Chlorogenic acid. A powerful antioxidant compound, chlorogenic acid may lower blood pressure in people with elevated levels (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source).

Chlorophylls and carotenoids like lycopene are responsible for the vibrant colour of tomatoes. When the ripening process starts, the chlorophyll (green) is degraded and carotenoids (red) are synthesized (15Trusted Source, 16).

Lycopene

1. Lycopene — the foremost overabundant pigment in aged tomatoes — is especially noteworthy once it involves the fruit's plant compounds.
2. It's found in the highest concentrations in the skin (17Trusted Source, 18).
3. Generally, the redder the tomato, the more lycopene it has (19Trusted Source).
4. Tomato products — such as ketchup, tomatoes juice, tomato paste, and tomato sauces are the richest dietary sources of lycopene in the Western diets, providing over 80% of dietary lycopene in the United States (20Trusted Source, 21Trusted Source).
5. Gram for gram, the amount of lycopene in processed tomato products is often much higher than in fresh tomatoes (22Trusted Source, 23).

For example, ketchup boasts 11–15 mg of lycopene per 3.5 ounces (100 grams), while one small, fresh tomatoes (100 grams) holds only 1–8 mg (24).

• However, keep in mind that ketchup is often consumed in minimal amounts.Thus, it should be easier to raise your carotenoid intake by uptake unprocessed tomatoes — that even have so much less sugar than tomato ketchup.
• Other foods in your diet may have a substantial effect on a lycopene absorption. Consuming this plant compound with a source of fat can increase intake by up to four times (25Trusted Source).
• However, not everyone absorbs lycopene at the same rate (26Trusted Source).
• Even though processed tomatoes products are higher in lycopene, it's still recommended to consume fresh, whole tomatoes whenever possible.

SUMMARY

Lycopene is one among the foremost copious plant compounds in tomatoes. It's found in the highest concentrations in tomato products, such as ketchup, juice, pasta, and sauce.

Health Benefits Of Tomatoes

Consumption of tomatoes is a based product has been linked to improved skin health and a lower risk of heart disease and cancers.

1. Heart health

Heart disease — together with heart attacks and strokes — is that the world's most typical explanation for death. A study in middle-aged men linked low blood levels of lycopene and beta-carotene to increased risk of heart attacks and strokes (27Trusted Source, 28Trusted Source).

Increasing evidence from clinical trials suggests that supplementing with lycopene may help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol (29Trusted Source). Clinical studies of tomato products indicate benefits against inflammation and markers of oxidative stress (30Trusted Source, 31Trusted Source).

They also show a protective effect on the inner layer of blood vessels and may decrease your risk of blood clotting (32Trusted Source, 33Trusted Source).

2. Cancer prevention

Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that spread beyond their usual boundaries, often invading other parts of the body.

Observational studies have noted links between tomatoes — and tomato products — and fewer incidences of prostate, lung, and stomach cancers (34Trusted Source, 35Trusted Source).

While the high lycopene content is believed responsible, high-quality human research needed to confirm the cause of these benefits (36Trusted Source, 37Trusted Source, 38Trusted Source).

A study in women shows that high concentrations of carotenoids — found in high amounts in tomatoes — may protect against breast cancer (39Trusted Source, 40Trusted Source).

3. Skin health

Tomatoes are considered beneficial for skin health. Tomato-based foods rich in lycopene and other plant compounds may protect against sunburn (41Trusted Source, 42Trusted Source).

According to study, people who ingested 1.3 ounces (40 grams) of tomatoes paste — providing 16 mg of lycopene — with olive oil every day for ten weeks experienced 40% fewer sunburns (43Trusted Source).

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SUMMARY

Studies show that tomatoes and tomato products may reduce your risks of heart disease and several cancers. This fruit is also beneficial for skin health, as it may protect against sunburns.

Commercial Ripening Process.

When tomatoes start to ripen, they produce a gaseous hormone called ethylene (44Trusted Source, 45Trusted Source). Commercially grown plants are harvested and transported whiles still green and immature. To make them reds before selling, food companies spray them with artificial ethylene gas.

This process inhibits the development of natural flavour and may result in tasteless tomatoes (46). Therefore, locally grown plant maybe taste better because they're allowed to ripen naturally. 

If you purchase green  tomatoes, you'll speed up the ripening method by wrapping them in an exceedingly sheet of newspaper and keeping them on the room counter for some days. Just certify to see them daily for maturity.

SUMMARY

Tomatoes are often harvested while still green and immature, then ripened artificially with ethylenes gases. This may lead to fewer flavours development, resulting in bland vegetables.

Safety and side effects

Tomatoes are generally well-tolerated, and tomato allergy is very rare (47Trusted Source, 48Trusted Source).

Allergy though tomato hypersensitivity reaction is rare, people allergic to grass spore square measure additional possible to be allergic to tomatoes.This condition is called pollen-food allergy syndrome or oral-allergy syndrome (49Trusted Source). 

In oral-allergy syndrome, your system attacks fruit and vegetable proteins that square measure like spore, that ends up in aversions like cutaneous sensation within the mouth, rough  throat, or swelling of the mouth or throat (50Trusted Source). 

People with latex allergy can also experience cross-reactivity to tomatoes (51Trusted Source, 52Trusted Source).

SUMMARY

Tomatoes square measure typically well tolerated however might cause aversions in folks allergic to grass spore.

The Bottom line

Tomatoes are juicy and sweet, fulls of antioxidants, and may help fights several of diseases. They are exceptionally high in lycopene, a plant compound linked to improved heart health, cancer prevention, and protection against sunburns. They are exceptionally high in lycopene, a plant compound related to improved heart health, cancer prevention, and protection against sunburns. Tomatoes is a valuable part of a healthy diet.

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