4 Unique health benefits of tomatoes

The tomato plant ‘Solanum lycopersicum’ is native to South America, but has been cultivated in Europe for hundreds of years. Tomatoes belong to the nightshade family of plants and while actually classified as a fruit it tends to take the use of a vegetable when used for culinary purposes.

• Healthy bones – Tomatoes are great sources of Vitamin K that can help to keep our veins and arteries flexible. Vitamin K deficiency is very common in Europe and the United States and is thought to be linked to long term use of antibiotics.

• Lower blood pressure – Due to high levels of potassium citrate tomatoes have the ability to greatly reduce blood pressure with studies show that just one cup of tomatoes can lower blood pressure by up to 11.7%

• Lower your cholesterol using tomatoes – You may well have heard about LDL bad cholesterol, well tomatoes contain a substance known as lycopene that actively reduces LDL whilst promoting the production of good cholesterol.

• Eye health – The high levels of antioxidants found in tomatoes help to protect our eyes from excess light damage, not only this, but tomatoes a packed full of vitamins and trace minerals that are essential for our eyes to function properly.

What is Lycopene?

Lycopene is the name of the substance responsible for the deep red colour of many fruits and vegetables. Its powerful antioxidant compound helps us to gain strength and even strengths our cell membranes.  

Other great sources of lycopene:

• Pink Grapefruits
• Pink Guava
• Watermelon
• Papaya
• Rosehips

Tips for Best Tomato Taste

When purchasing tomatoes there a few things you want to look out for. Tomatoes should be firm to the touch and not have any wrinkles. Tomatoes come in a variety of colours ranging from deep red to yellow, when looking for lycopene its best to go for the ones darkest in colour.