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Tomatoes… Has anticancer effects/ Linked to a reduced risk of heart attack/  Useful source of vitamin C and A

There are three kinds of tomatoes :

Cherry tomatoes         Plum tomatoes          Beefsteak tomatoes

Tomatoes most season is July and it stays for the next 4 months so it is good to take advantage from it at that time, it is going to be the most nutritious and delicious. I am going to talk about the health benefits of tomatoes because they are many. One of them is the anti-inflammatory properties in tomatoes such as vitamin C and vitamin A they help to control free-radical damage which occurs on daily basis. Free-radicals were linked to diseases like cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer, even arthritis and heart diseases.

The main phytochemical found in tomatoes is lycopene. Up to 85% of lycopene in the diet comes from tomatoes and tomato products. Lycopene was shown to prevent cancer. We can benefit from lycopene better from cooking tomatoes, you can use tomato sauces or canned or you can make it at home (home-made) that’s the best.

If you suffer from low energy, tomatoes will be the best food for you due to its high content of iron and B vitamins such niacin (B1), B6, B3, B2 and B5. Also tomatoes contain a good source of vitamin K and magnesium which is good for our bones as well. And for a bonus tomatoes are very low in calories, 1 cup of raw tomatoes contains about 38 calories, so consider that when you are looking for a snack, maybe a handful of raw cherry tomatoes instead of a handful of potato chips. That would really be a great alternative.

It is important when you go to shop for tomatoes to pick the organic ones, because the non-organic ones have wax on them which will trap pesticides. Another thing you have to know where tomatoes do come from, actually they do not ship very well, so they are picked early which means GREEN, which means they haven’t developed the great vital nutrients which our body needs and they are artificially ripen, they treat it with gas (ethylene) and certainly that is not the most beneficial way for us to be consuming our fruits and vegetables.

Tomatoes are best to serve as raw. You can put them in different salads, you can put them in your wraps and sandwiches. One thing I like to do is cut some avocados and cucumber and add tomatoes, serve it with balsamic vinaigrette dressing or lemon mustard dressing, it would be great delicious and most nutritious.

Another thing you can do is to cut a beefsteak tomato in halves and add some cumin and cayenne pepper or you can add oregano and basil or simply just salt and pepper put them on your grill or cook them in your oven to have the most benefit from lycopene

If you are a big tomato lover why don’t you grow your own tomatoes it is really simple, what’s better than picking tomatoes from your backyard!!

Below you can check all nutrients in tomatoes.

Image source: whfoods.com