Tomatoes: Properties and Benefits

Introduction

He is spoken of as the "emperor of the world vegetable gardens: in fact, the tomato, for its goodness and beneficial properties, has climbed the rankings of the" best "vegetables, earning the podium in a few handfuls of years. suspicious eye for its ideally dangerous fruits, the tomato, in the following years, was admired in botanical gardens as a typically exotic plant: currently, the tomato is appreciated for its malleability in the kitchen and for its properties in phytotherapy.

In the previous article we studied the tomato in a general key, focusing in particular on the botanical aspects; in this concluding discussion we will frame the "vegetable in the phytotherapeutic field, analyzing its nutritional composition and its medicinal properties, with the relative beneficial effects. on human health.

Nutritional properties

As we have seen, the tomato, although relatively late - compared to other vegetables imported from the Americas - entered Italian cuisine, has become a staple of the Mediterranean diet.
Tomatoes are rich in water, which constitutes over 94%; carbohydrates represent almost 3%, while proteins are calculated around 1.2%, fibers at 1% and, lastly, fats. they represent only 0.2%, which is why one hundred grams of fresh tomatoes provide only 17 Kcal.
Tomatoes contain moderate quantities of vitamins: we recall Vitamins of group B, ascorbic acid, vitamin D and, above all, vitamin E, which ensure the well-known antioxidant and vitaminizing properties of the tomato.
The mineral component is also substantial: iron, zinc, selenium, phosphorus and calcium associated with citrates, tartrates and nitrates act in synergy ensuring remineralizing and anti-radical properties.
I also change the content of organic acids, such as malic, citric, succinic and gluteninic, useful for promoting digestion.

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Video Recipe to learn how to make "raw" tomato sauce. Alternatively, we have also prepared the video recipe for the classic tomato preserve.



Tomato puree - Canned "raw" tomatoes

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How not to point out, then, the video of tomatoes stuffed with rice and tuna or the variant of tomatoes au gratin with anchovies.

Beneficial properties

The previous analysis shows that the nutritional identikit of the tomato is perfectly suited to the needs of the consumer of the third millennium: the vegetable is in fact low in calories (only 17 per 100 grams), thus adapting to the "modern" low-calorie, mineralizing diets and vitaminizing, diuretic, digestive and - above all - tasty.
But the beneficial properties of the tomato are not over yet; we mentioned its strong ability to stimulate diuresis (diuretic property), consequently the vegetable is also an excellent refreshing and purifying agent, useful for eliminating excess waste. This property is enhanced by the presence of sulfur, thanks to its strong detoxifying abilities.
Furthermore, the tomato, due to the presence of organic acids, stimulates salivary and gastric digestion: by decreasing the pH of the stomach, in fact, digestion is favored (especially of starches). Precisely for this reason, however, the tomato is not recommended for those suffering from gastric irritation or heartburn.
The fibers - hemicellulose and cellulose, concentrated in the peel - stimulate intestinal motility, to the detriment of constipation and a sluggish intestine.
The tomato is also rich in solanine, a natural toxic substance that abounds in not fully ripe green tomatoes: solanine is responsible for headaches, abdominal and gastric pains.
Tomato is also used in the hemisynthesis of corticosteroids.

Indications

For its medicinal properties, the tomato is recommended for constipated people, being a good intestinal stimulator, for diabetics, for the poverty in sugars, for hypertensive people (for the low quantity of salt), for those who are overweight, for gout sufferers, rheumatism, uremia and to all those who do not want to neglect their health. [adapted from Encyclopedia of Health Plants, by G. Debuigne]

Contraindications

Although able to carry out deserving beneficial properties, the tomato is also known for its defects. As mentioned above, the red fruit is contraindicated for those suffering from stomach acid, but that's not all: the tomato is rich in histamine, a biological bomb in all respects, capable of triggering allergic reactions, sometimes even serious. In this regard, many sensitive people complain of dermatitis simply after having treated and cut tomatoes, or after having eaten them even in small quantities.
Tomato lectin can interact with the intestinal mucosa and trigger inflammation, alteration of the immune system, malabsorption of nutrients, etc .. [taken from Genetic nutrition, by Jeffrey S. Bland, Sarah H. Benum]
Tomatoes contain various allergenic proteins, a cause of food allergy; among these we remember Lyc and 1; Lyc and 2; 2Apolygalacturonase; superoxide dismutase; pectinesterase. [taken from it.wikipedia.org/]

Tomato in cosmetics

The properties of tomatoes are also exploited in cosmetics: for example, by applying a compound prepared by mixing tomato juice with glycerin and salt to the skin of the hands, they will be soft and smooth. Do not forget that many beauty masks are formulated with tomato extracts, useful for its nourishing, firming and toning properties.
Finally, the application of a cream prepared with tomato is also recommended to relieve acne.

Other articles on "Tomatoes: properties of tomatoes"

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2. Summary on tomatoes

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