Friday, September 14, 2007
Tomatoes are a healthy choice
I know many of us don’t like the end of summer knowing the cold weather is around the corner, yet one thing to look forward to this time of year is the abundance of garden tomatoes. Sure you can get tomatoes year round from the supermarket but there is nothing like the home-grown, vine-ripened tomato.
And yes, tomatoes are fruit although for culinary purposes are referred to as a vegetable. No matter how we classify them, the bottom line is that they are so healthy for us.
Legend has it that tomatoes in the United States were considered unsafe to eat. The safety concern was apparently put to rest in 1820 when Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson announced that at noon on Sept. 26, he would eat a basket full of tomatoes in front of the Salem, New Jersey courthouse.
Reportedly, crowds of more that 2,000 persons gathered to watch the poor man die after eating the poisonous fruits, and were shocked when he lived.
Perhaps the more factual story involves cultural people like Thomas Jefferson, who ate tomatoes in Paris and sent some seeds home, knowing the tomato was edible.
Regardless of how they became known as suitable for eating, I feel lucky to have this wonderful fruit growing in my garden.
Over the recent years, the nutritional values of tomatoes have become very widely known. The rich red color that makes tomatoes so valuable to a healthy diet is caused by an antioxidant called lycopene –especially when the tomatoes are cooked. Antioxidants are dietary substances, including a handful of nutrients that significantly slow or prevent the oxidative process (damage from oxygen), thus preventing or slowing damage to your body cells.
Some ongoing research with lycopene involves prevention of prostate cancer and reducing the risk of heart disease. While some studies contradict these findings, a tomato is certainly an overall healthy food choice.
Lycopene is not the only important nutrient in tomatoes. Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin with many health benefits. One medium tomato generally contains about 40 % of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). Vitamin C helps form the connective tissue that holds the many parts of your body together. It keeps the capillaries healthy so you don’t bruise easily and your gums healthy so they don’t bleed.
Vitamin C also works in partnership with iron, helping the body to absorb iron from plant sources of food. In fact, an adequate daily supply of vitamin C in your food choices can increase the absorption of non heme iron (mostly from plant sources) by two to four times. For those who get most of their iron from plants, such as vegetarians, Vitamin C is of special importance. Vitamin C, also an antioxidant, has been linked to reducing the risk of cataracts and cancer protection, according to preliminary research.
Furthermore, tomatoes contain significant amounts of vitamin A and potassium and are low in calories.
So on Sept. 26, when eating the last of your garden tomatoes, I will thank Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson, Thomas Jefferson or whomever brought tomatoes into our country and proved them safe to eat – and get a daily dose of Vitamin C and lycopene. Then I’ll long for next year's tomato season.
Sarah Hospod is a registered dietitian in the Food and Nutrition Department a The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich. This column should not replace advice or instruction from your personal physician. E-mail Hospod and all of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org.
And yes, tomatoes are fruit although for culinary purposes are referred to as a vegetable. No matter how we classify them, the bottom line is that they are so healthy for us.
Legend has it that tomatoes in the United States were considered unsafe to eat. The safety concern was apparently put to rest in 1820 when Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson announced that at noon on Sept. 26, he would eat a basket full of tomatoes in front of the Salem, New Jersey courthouse.
Reportedly, crowds of more that 2,000 persons gathered to watch the poor man die after eating the poisonous fruits, and were shocked when he lived.
Perhaps the more factual story involves cultural people like Thomas Jefferson, who ate tomatoes in Paris and sent some seeds home, knowing the tomato was edible.
Regardless of how they became known as suitable for eating, I feel lucky to have this wonderful fruit growing in my garden.
Over the recent years, the nutritional values of tomatoes have become very widely known. The rich red color that makes tomatoes so valuable to a healthy diet is caused by an antioxidant called lycopene –especially when the tomatoes are cooked. Antioxidants are dietary substances, including a handful of nutrients that significantly slow or prevent the oxidative process (damage from oxygen), thus preventing or slowing damage to your body cells.
Some ongoing research with lycopene involves prevention of prostate cancer and reducing the risk of heart disease. While some studies contradict these findings, a tomato is certainly an overall healthy food choice.
Lycopene is not the only important nutrient in tomatoes. Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin with many health benefits. One medium tomato generally contains about 40 % of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). Vitamin C helps form the connective tissue that holds the many parts of your body together. It keeps the capillaries healthy so you don’t bruise easily and your gums healthy so they don’t bleed.
Vitamin C also works in partnership with iron, helping the body to absorb iron from plant sources of food. In fact, an adequate daily supply of vitamin C in your food choices can increase the absorption of non heme iron (mostly from plant sources) by two to four times. For those who get most of their iron from plants, such as vegetarians, Vitamin C is of special importance. Vitamin C, also an antioxidant, has been linked to reducing the risk of cataracts and cancer protection, according to preliminary research.
Furthermore, tomatoes contain significant amounts of vitamin A and potassium and are low in calories.
So on Sept. 26, when eating the last of your garden tomatoes, I will thank Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson, Thomas Jefferson or whomever brought tomatoes into our country and proved them safe to eat – and get a daily dose of Vitamin C and lycopene. Then I’ll long for next year's tomato season.
Sarah Hospod is a registered dietitian in the Food and Nutrition Department a The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich. This column should not replace advice or instruction from your personal physician. E-mail Hospod and all of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org.
# posted by ----------------- @ 3:22 AM 
