Tomatoes - beneficial properties and contraindications

Tomato is a favorite vegetable of many, which we are happy to buy on the market or grow in household plots. Any summer salad does not do without juicy red tomatoes. Thanks to good taste, for many years, it is an integral part of a huge number of recipes and is popular in almost all cuisines of the world. But besides the excellent taste, tomatoes have many more beneficial properties for our body.

Where does tomato come from in our kitchen? Why is this vegetable useful? What is the composition of the product? Are there any contraindications to use? Where does it apply? We will try to answer these questions.

Some historical moments

It is believed that the "tomato" civilized and began to grow the peoples of the Aztecs and Incas, they added it to their dishes, used to make sauces. Spanish conquerors, in addition to countless treasures, brought to Europe and the seeds of strange "Peruvian apples", but experts in botany of the time, recognized the unknown fruit as dangerous for eating, due to the content of poisonous substances. For about three centuries, tomatoes were an ornament to flowerbeds and greenhouses; they were grown in pots on window sills.

The first tomatoes tried to add to the food the Portuguese. The American colonel Johnson’s myth about the harmfulness of this vegetable completely debunked in 1822, when in the presence of a large public it defiantly ate a whole tomato. Since then, his popularity began to grow, and now this vegetable is indispensable in good nutrition.

What is included

The main part of the chemical composition of tomato is water (about 95%) and organic fibers, called fiber.Although the product is considered dietary and low-calorie (approximately 20 kcal per 100 g), it contains many vitamins, nutrients and compounds. Tomatoes contain:

• vitamins A, C, group B, E, K, PP, beta carotene;
• mineral elements - manganese and magnesium, phosphorus and sodium, chromium and iron, iodine and copper, zinc and others;
• organic acids - malic, citric, tartaric, ascorbic;
• glucose and fructose;
• pectins, starch, phytoncides;
• lycopene.

All these components are actively involved in physiological processes, have a positive effect on the vital activity of the body and human health. Cellulose promotes normal digestion, improves the bowels and removes harmful toxins, slags and free radicals. B vitamins, calcium and potassium strengthen the heart muscle, make blood vessels more durable, lower blood pressure. Iron is actively involved in the process of blood formation and supply of blood cells with oxygen. Magnesium is an antidepressant, soothes the nervous system, normalizes sleep.

Due to the high content of lycopene (pigment dye), which is the strongest natural antioxidant, the risk of cancer and diseases associated with the cardiovascular system is many times reduced.Moreover, during heat treatment, it does not lose its positive qualities, but, on the contrary, in dishes and sauces from tomatoes, they increase. The remaining minerals and substances, though not so clearly, but also bring some benefit.

What benefits bring tomatoes

Medicinal properties of tomatoes have long been known and are widely used in traditional and traditional medicine. Nutritionists and doctors recommend more to use this product in such cases:

1. To strengthen the immune system. Phytoncides and vitamin C contained in tomatoes have an anti-inflammatory effect, actively inhibit the growth and spread of fungal infections, fight bacteria, resist such pathogens as Salmonella and pneumococci.
2. To improve the activity of the digestive tract and metabolism. Tomatoes normalize intestinal motility, help with constipation, low acidity, lack of appetite. For overweight people, diets are very useful, where the main component is this product, since chromium contributes to fast and long-term saturation.
3. Tomatoes have a good diuretic and choleretic effect,which has a beneficial effect on the work of the urogenital system, is a decongestant, helps men with prostate disease.
4. How to prevent cancer. According to a number of studies conducted by renowned scientists, some of the elements contained in tomatoes prevent the formation of cancer cells.
5. Tomatoes contain a blood thinning agent that prevents the formation of blood clots. Thanks to pectins, which bind cholesterol and bring it out of the body, it is useful, as a preventive measure against atherosclerosis, to eat several tomatoes a day or drink a glass of freshly squeezed juice.
6. Tomatoes are excellent antidepressants, serotonin, or as it is also called “the hormone of happiness” contained in them, contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous system, elevation of mood and vigor, replenishes lost energy.
7. A high content of vitamin A improves eyesight, helps with glaucoma, reducing intraocular pressure. The presence of B2 and riboflavin protects against the onset of age-related cataracts.
8. Tomatoes can help smokers.Organic acids such as chlorogenic and coumaric are excreted toxic substances contained in tobacco smoke.

To get the most benefit from eating tomatoes, try to eat them together with the skin, since most of the beneficial elements are there.

Despite the considerable list of advantages, you should not abuse this product. Experts advise to adhere to the norm and eat no more than 200-300 g daily, breaking up into 3-4 doses. Supporters of healthy food can note that tomatoes are not recommended for eating with eggs, fish and meat dishes, this slows down the digestive process and can lead to bloating and a feeling of heaviness in the stomach. Also, when eating separately, it is better not to use tomatoes with bread, and drink juice half an hour after eating.

Contraindications and harm

Like any vegetable product, tomatoes have contraindications to the use, the non-observance of which can lead to various exacerbations and harm the body. Be careful with tomatoes or even eliminate them from the diet is necessary for:

1. Allergies or personal intolerances.
2. Some diseases of the liver and gallbladder. Oxalic acid can aggravate acute kidney disease and gout. As a strong choleretic agent, it can trigger stones;
3. Joint diseases, arthritis and osteochondrosis. Acids contained in tomatoes disrupt the water and salt balance in the body, which, with these ailments, can lead to a serious exacerbation;
4. Hypertension and gastritis, it is necessary to abandon canned and salted tomatoes, mainly because of salt and vinegar, which are added to the workpiece.

Pediatricians do not recommend injecting tomatoes into the diet of children under 2 years of age. A small body can not cope with such an abundance of minerals and vitamins, so the product should be taught gradually, adding in small portions of thermally processed vegetables. Tomato juice to give children better diluted.

Caution! Eating green, unripe tomatoes is dangerous for health! They contain solanine, and this substance is poisonous. When salting and canning poison is neutralized.

The use of tomato in cooking

The scope of culinary use of tomatoes is wide and multifaceted.First of all, fresh, they are added to various salads, they make delicious juice, and they just eat with pleasure completely. And also tomatoes are canned, salted, stewed, fried, stuffed with other vegetables or mushrooms, they make all kinds of mashed potatoes, sauces, and pastes. Their addition gives the dishes a pleasant sweet-sour taste, making them more perfect, in the culinary sense of the word. In addition, good housewives to save most of the useful substances are dried, dried and frozen tomatoes. In winter, in the period of vitamin deficiencies, such food supplements are very helpful.

The use of tomato in cosmetology

Tomato mask is very easy to make. Freshly squeezed juice of 1-2 tomatoes is applied to cleansed skin, left for 20-30 minutes and washed off with warm water.

To get rid of acne or furunculosis, you can add 1 tbsp. lchopped oatmeal and a few drops of lemon juice. By the way, this mask can be applied to the hair roots, it nourishes them with nutrients and activates growth.

All of the above makes it possible to safely attribute tomatoes to the number of the most useful products, and the availability of this vegetable can be considered a great advantage for our fellow citizens. So if you have no contraindications, then try to find a decent place for tomatoes in your diet and in general in life.

Video: the useful tomato