Tomatoes Health Benefits

Submitted by Loring A. Windblad on February 2, 2010

Medicinal And Health Benefits Of Tomatoes

Tomatoes are an essential addition to your everyday diet as they are well-known for their curative properties. Tomatoes can be consumed fresh or cooked but are healthiest when consumed raw. Drink a glass of fresh tomato juice everyday or add tomato generously to your fresh vegetable salads to increase the nutritive value of your diet. The tomato is well known for its health benefits and curative properties.

Tomatoes For Healthy Diet

Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, an essential anti-oxidant that helps fight cancer.

Lycopene also helps flush free radicals from the body and is as such very effective in maintaining overall health in addition to reducing the risk of cancer. The tomato also gets its rich color from this essential element that is not produced naturally in the body.

Tomatoes thus provide a rich supply of lycopene to the body and contain this element in a much greater concentration compared to other vegetables.

Lycopene in tomatoes also helps prevent several kinds of cancer, mainly, cervical cancer, rectal cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer. Lycopene helps ward off certain kinds of stomach cancers as well as cancers of the pharynx, mouth, and esophagus.

In addition to lowering the risk of cancer, recent research has revealed that Lycopene also discourages the growth of cancer cells in the body.

The tomato also helps maintain excellent eye health by preventing the occurrence of age related macular degeneration. This is because tomatoes contain a rich supply of vitamin A – an essential ingredient for keeping your eyes healthy. Tomatoes also help maintain good health of the gut, in addition to treating a variety of other disorders like diabetes, hypertension, urinary tract infections and even skin disorders.

Tomatoes are a rich source of vitamins and minerals that help keep the body free from toxins and free radicals. Vitamin C, for instance, is a very good antioxidant that is abundantly available in tomatoes. Tomatoes also contain Potassium, vitamin A, and iron which help maintain nerve health and regular blood circulation. Tomatoes are also abundant in vitamin K which promotes blood clotting.

Tomatoes help prevent diarrhea and constipation and therefore ensure the proper functioning of the digestive system. Tomatoes are also very effective in the treatment of gallstones. Regular consumption of tomato helps dissolve gallstones effectively. Minor skin problems like burns can be treated effectively with the help of tomatoes. Topical application of tomato pulp helps treat sunburn and related skin conditions. Tomatoes thus also help in the maintenance of good skin health.