Tomatoes: benefits and tips

What are tomatoes good for? Discover all the benefits of eating this fruit

What are tomatoes good for?

Tomatoes are eaten, prepared and treated like a vegetable, although they are botanically fruit. Despite this already known trivia fact, tomatoes are good for many other reasons. They are sources of dietary fiber and several vitamins and minerals. For example, they contain vitamin C, choline, Vitamin E, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium. Moreover, they contain some bioactive compounds, among which we can highlight the carotenoid lycopene, which gives tomatoes their vibrant red colour.

In fact, tomatoes are the major dietary source of this antioxidant compound which has been linked to many health benefits, including reduced risk of certain types of cancer such as breast, prostate, lung and stomach.

Tomato fruit consumption has also been associated with some benefits, such as a reduction of risk of chronic noncommunicable diseases, like cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and obesity. Did you know that tomatoes are also beneficial for our skin, as they are thought to protect against sunburns?

Tomatoes can be good for our skin health

Some tips and things to keep in mind when buying, preparing, and eating tomatoes:

When buying tomatoes, choose the ones with rich colours, well-shaped and smooth skinned with no wrinkles, cracks, bruises, or soft spots. Ripe tomatoes will yield to slight pressure and often have a noticeably sweet fragrance.

The best place to store tomatoes depends on the degree of ripeness. Unripe or ready to eat tomatoes should be stored at room temperature and out of direct exposure to sunlight. To speed up the ripening process, they can be placed in a paper bag with a banana or apple. On the contrary, if they already seem a bit overripe, it is better to keep them in the refrigerator. In this case, they must be removed about 30 minutes before using to regain their maximum flavour and juiciness.