If you like to eat tomatoes on a regular basis, you may or may not be aware of the fact that tomatoes contain numerous health benefits that could not only help protect your immune system, but even reduce your risk of developing serious diseases as well.
Thanks to tomatoes containing lycopene, an antioxidant that is responsible for the red coloring in tomatoes, eating tomatoes on a regular basis combats cancerous cell from forming in your body, and can also help reduce the risk of you developing prostate cancer, cervical cancer, rectal cancer, mouth cancer, heart disease, asthma and much more. Some scientific studies have also found that lycopene may even improve your body’s immune system as well, however this fact is debatable.
Studies show that every time lycopene is absorbed into your stomach it is then carried through to the fatty tissues and organs in your body before it is stored in the liver, testes, colon and adrenal glands. Lycopene is also known to help flush out any free radicals in your body, and some scientific studies have discovered that lycopene is actually one of the most powerful stabilizers of singlet oxygen and is approximately 100 times more powerful than vitamin E.
Not only that, lycopene isn’t just found in tomatoes but also various tomato products as well, such as spaghetti sauce, tomato soup, tomato juice, tomato paste and ketchup. (One scientific study even discovered that lycopene is absorbed 2.5 times better in tomato pasta than in tomatoes).
Lycopene is also found in various other tomato products as well like spaghetti sauce, tomato soup, tomato paste, tomato juice and ketchup; in fact, apparently lycopene is absorbed 2.5 times better in tomato paste than it is in tomatoes. (Experts recommend that you eat seven or more servings of tomato products each week in order to reduce your risk of developing gastric cancer by 50%).
If you’re hoping to incorporate more tomatoes into your diet in the hopes of enjoying their numerous health benefits, then be sure to cook the tomatoes before you eat them to help raise the lycopene levels. Not only that, it is also recommended that you cook the tomatoes in oil as it will also help increase your lycopene absorption levels.
Bio: Aside from school and working part-time as an Assistant Chef, Bridget Sandorford is the resident Culinary Schools blogger where recently she’s been researching Paris culinary colleges as well as sous chef training programs. Her passion for food is only met with her passion for writing. She lives outside of Charleston, South Carolina.
