Tomato and Its Benefit for Our Health

Tomato is a plant grown for its smooth, round, juicy fruit. The word tomato refers both to the fruit, which people eat, and to the entire plant. The fruit has a slightly acid taste. There are more than 4,000 varieties of tomatoes.

Tomatoes originated in South America, and Spanish priests probably brought them to Europe from Mexico in the mid-1500's. People in Spain and Italy then began to grow tomatoes as food. Now this plant can be found in every countries in the world.

The tomato belongs to the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its scientific name is Lycopersicon esculentum.

Botanists classify tomatoes as fruits. Horticulturists, however, classify them as vegetables. Most other people consider tomatoes vegetables because fresh tomatoes are used in much the same way as lettuce, onions, cauliflower, and many other vegetables. Fresh tomatoes are eaten raw or cooked and are served in salads and other dishes. Most tomatoes grown in the United States (and also in Indonesia) are processed for use in making food products. These products include ketchup, tomato juice, tomato soup, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and canned whole tomatoes. Tomatoes are an important source of vitamins A and C and of certain minerals.

Why is Tomato Important for Our Health? It is because tomato contains:
- Vitamin C - Tomatine The substance has features of anti inflammation, and contains caroten and citrate acid. If tomato is rubbed to the face, the citrate acid can help removing dust and grease. So it can be used as acne natural medicine just by rubbing it to the face.

- Carbohydrate.
If tomato is consumed daily, it will become additional energy source for the body. The additional energy is important to be used to increase the activity of body organ. This is a good news for dieters. Carbohydrate in fruit is easier to digest and is better than in rice or bread.

- Fat.
Fat in tomato contains essential fatty acid which is important for skin and other parts of the body. Other function of fat in tomato is to dissolve vitamin A, D, E, K which is good eyes and blood circulation. It is important to know that if we take vitamin supplement, we have to consume fat. because fat is important to digest those vitamins.

- Protein.
It is a source of amino acid which is used by the body to develop and substitute damaged cells.

- Lycopene.
The most powerful nutrient in tomato is an active substance called lycopene. The substance is an antioxidant compound of carotenoid group nad mostly found in red tomato. In the body, the compund is saved in testicle, adrenal gland and prostate. The result of a research in Italia showed that consuming high dose of lycopene can decrease the risk of stomach or intestine cancer. The information of lycopene can be found elsewhere in this blog.