This week I started tomato seeds for the spring garden!  I grow them becasuse fresh is best and the health benefit of tomatoes make them even better.  However, I just can’t help that my mind does not think of the benefits whenever I grow tomatoes .  No, it immediately invisions a fresh BLT, (Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich).  I mean, what better health benefit of tomatoes is there then the fact that one can lay a beautiful red slice across a mound of bacon! 

The meatless part of me loves them too. Thoughts of red tomatoes lying on top of fresh lettuce smothered with ranch dressing abound. Or, the way they cook into a sauce that can be lavishly spread across noodles, or bread or mixed into peppers for a bight of tomato heat! 

There is no doubt one of the benefits of tomatoes is their taste and versatility! After all, they are a main source of Umami, that savory flavor that combines “the five basic tastes of sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness together in one bite!  However, with just a bit of research one will find the health benefit of tomatoes are also numerous. There is so much more to this red, yellow, purple or green beauty than simply their taste! 

About the Tomato

The tomato is actually a fruit! This does make sense as tomatoes are full of juice when sliced open.  However, the Solanum lycopersicum  is most often used as a vegetable.  Tomatoes originated from South and Central America, domesticated and cultivated from the indeginious people of Mexico.

The nutrition factors of tomatoes are quite interesting!  One of the first things that jumps out when researching their benefits is the amount of water one tomato holds! According to an article on healthline.com they actually consist mainly of water! 95% water; and, that is a lot of water in one portion of food!  However, they also contain several nutrients all which help one thrive from a holistic health perspective. 

Top health benefit of tomatoes

   

 

Vitamin C:  One medium tomato could provide as much as 28% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C.  Like Orange Juice in a red piece of candy!

 

Potassium: I personally feel the benefits of potassium are underrated, it is afterall an electrolyte.  According to Healthline potassium is a mineral  that produces “positively charged ions,” when dissolved in water.  Now, how interesting is that considering 95% of the tomato is in fact water? Potassium dissolves into one’s body acting as, “positive and negative ions” literally conducting electricity as a positive charge helping to regulate fluid, nerve and muscle contractions.  Vitamin K1:  Important to the bodies ability to create blood clotting and healthy bones!

Vitamin B9: Used for tissue growth and cell functions! Lycopene: That special ingredient that actually makes the tomato red, generally the brighter the color red of the tomato the more Lycopene is present and is strongest in the skin of the tomato.  Lycopene is an antioxidant, helpful in keeping the bodies free radical levels in balance and protecting against things like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimers. Healthline sighted, “Most red and pink foods contain some lycopene. Tomatoes and foods made with tomatoes are the richest sources of this nutrient.”

Grow Your Own

If one truly wants to appreciate the taste and health of tomatoes one should grow their own.  Many of our foods today are sprayed and grocery store tomatoes are often harvested and transported in their green stage making them immature.  Food companies can be known to use artificial ethylene gas spray on tomatoes to improve their beautiful red coloring during this immature stage.  This process, although good at exposing color, puts a damper on their natural development and hinders the flavor resulting in a more `tasteless” tomato.

Home grown tomatoes give so much flavor to ones recipes. There is afterall a reason us gardeners often say, “it tastes so much better when it’s fresh.”   So, the next time you visit the store and see a package of tomato seeds in a tall isle display, grab some for your home garden! Find the health and flavor of fresh grown tomatoes in your own backyard or allotment garden!