Tomato Health Benefits: find out the health benefits of tomatoes

Tomatoes are full of vital antioxidants for your body like vitamin A, vitamin C and lycopene. We all know that antioxidants reduce the risk of ever getting cancer. The tomato health benefits makes tomatoes a fabulous food to eat frequently.

The good news is that it seems that you don’t need to eat fresh tomatoes to benefit from them. In fact after a study, it seems that heat processed tomatoes have more health benefits. During the cooking the walls of the cells collapse and your body is able to absorb more lycopene this way. In fact it can absorb up to 6 times more lycopene. This makes spaghetti tomato sauce a super food.

When it comes to lycopene you should know that it is soluble only in fats. That is why you should eat something containing fats when your consume lycopene rich foods, like tomatoes. If you like Italian food this is great news because virgin olive oil is used intensely in making all the dishes. Any source of good healthy fats will do.

You have to get a good healthy portion of antioxidants. Your body uses the antioxidants to fight the free radicals which roam freely in your body doing havoc. By eating food containing lots of antioxidants you reduce the effects of the free radicals.

Lycopene is a fabulous antioxidant which is found in big quantities in tomatoes. In fact lycopene is responsible for the red color that tomatoes have. Tomatoes also contain vitamin C, but unfortunately vitamin C gets destroyed by heat. This means that if you need more vitamin C you will just have to eat the tomatoes fresh to benefit from it.

Vitamin A which is also found in big quantities in tomatoes is also soluble in fats. So by eating something fatty you gain the health benefits of lycopne and vitamin A at the same time. Vitamin A does wonders for your skin and hair, keeping them healthy and looking good. Your eyes, bones and teeth also benefit from vitamin A.

Eating more tomatoes is quite easy. You can add then in a sandwich, make a salad or just eat them as they are. Considering the health benefits of tomatoes, and how tomato sauce is actually more benefic, you should start eating more Italian meals. Pastas are great, especially if you use whole grain pastas . In fact tomato sauce can be add to a whole variety of foods, not just pastas.

A simple recipe of a tomatoes side dish that I enjoy a lot is the following: cut some tomatoes in big pieces on a plate, add some salt and sprinkle some virgin olive oil over it. Voila, you have a fabulous healthy side dish that goes fantastic with any grilled meat.

For more health benefits of different foods you should also check out The health benefits of some vegetables.