The “vegetable gold” contained in the cheap fruit, knowing how to eat the right body receives countless benefits

Tomatoes contain a substance that is considered ‘gold in plants’

Tomatoes are rich in nutrients such as vitamin C, carotene and B vitamins, 2 to 4 times higher than apples, pears, bananas and grapes. The mineral content of tomatoes can also account for 0.6% of the total weight, mainly calcium and phosphorus, followed by zinc and iron.

But what is most proud of is the lycopene found in tomatoes. Its antioxidant capacity is 3.2 times that of β-carotene and 100 times that of vitamin E.

The amount of Lycopene in tomatoes is very high, which is very beneficial to health (Artwork)

Lycopene is one of the most powerful antioxidants found in plants in nature, known as “plant gold”.

Lycopene can eliminate free radicals that cause aging and disease in the human body, help protect blood vessels and prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases, can improve immunity. This substance also helps to prevent and improve urinary system diseases such as prostate enlargement and prostatitis, beneficial for the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, cancer. breast, endometrial cancer and other cancers.

Health benefits of tomatoes

1. Protect blood vessels

Studies have found that eating tomatoes every day is good for reducing serum lipid peroxide and LDL oxidation levels, and the antioxidants in tomatoes can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

In addition, eating tomatoes and tomato-related products regularly is also beneficial in reducing inflammation and reducing the risk of blood clots.

2. Skin Protection

Lycopene is known as “natural sunscreen”, can resist the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays, one of the causes of wrinkles, eating all four seasons is good.

3. Eye protection

The powerful antioxidant function of lycopene can protect the eyes from oxidative stress, help prevent or delay cataracts, and slow down macular degeneration.

4. Alcohol break

People who drink alcohol should eat tomatoes before and after drinking, which is very beneficial for alcohol detoxification (Artwork)

Lycopene is a powerful “scavenger” of free radicals, in which alcohol generates a large number of free radicals during metabolism. Therefore, eating some tomatoes before drinking alcohol can help reduce the harmful effects of alcohol on the liver, eating after drinking can help reduce symptoms such as headaches and vomiting.

Note: Currently, academics believe that each person can get health benefits by taking 5-10 mg of lycopene per day. But calculated according to the content of 3 mg / 100g, you need to eat 200g of tomato pulp to reach 6 mg per day.

5. Promotes good sleep

Rich sources of vitamin C and lycopene can help you sleep better. So, if you have trouble sleeping, add tomatoes to your daily diet with a bowl of tomato soup or smoothie.

Is it better to eat raw or cooked tomatoes?

Eat raw tomatoes to retain vitamin C and other nutrients:

Because vitamin C is very afraid of heat, it will decompose when heated, although organic acids such as malic acid and citric acid in tomatoes can protect the vitamin C contained in tomatoes from being destroyed in a short time, but if Cooked at high temperature, for a long time, vitamin C is still decomposed, the loss is from 50% to 70%. Therefore, eating raw tomatoes can absorb more vitamin C. In addition, the amount of potassium, fiber, organic acids and water in tomatoes is not lost when eaten directly.

Eating cooked tomatoes is better for lycopene absorption:

Cooked tomatoes help retain the best amount of lycopene (Artwork)

Eating cooked tomatoes, not only the tomatoes themselves are better digested, but the fat-soluble lycopene after frying with oil will also be more easily absorbed by the body, thus having a good antioxidant effect. than.

However, it is not necessary to add a lot of oil to cook tomatoes, as long as there is oil in other dishes, it can also promote the absorption of lycopene.

In addition, red tomatoes have the highest lycopene content, the more ripe the tomato, the higher the lycopene content, so you should buy red ripe tomatoes.