Tomato is a food which is very high on nutrition side and provides umpteen benefits when eaten raw or cooked. Apart from adding flavour and color to your dishes, tomato can provide health boost to your skin, eyes and your whole body. Read on to know the 10 health benefits of eating tomatoes.

Tomato is a superfood which is very beneficial in keeping your heart healthy, aiding in weight loss and making your skin beautiful. Tomatoes are used in various dishes for making salads, chutney, soups, sauce, puree and vegetable but maximum health benefits can be reaped only by eating them raw. But to your surprise, cooked tomato also has nutritional value. This article is presenting the best 10 health benefits of eating tomatoes. Read on to know the best benefits of eating tomatoes for health.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF EATING TOMATOES

1) Control cardiovascular diseases

Tomatoes are very rich in potassium that can fulfill up to 237 mg of potassium requirement in 100 grams. Potassium is useful for preventing heart rate and controlling blood pressure.

As a result your blood pressure is under control that minimizes the chance of hypertension and stroke. Results also show that consumption of raw tomato can reduce the LDL cholesterol and triglyceride in blood. These lipids are the key culprits in fat accumulation in blood vessels that trigger heart attacks and strokes. so Munch on tomatoes daily to keep your heart healthy.

2) Prevent eyes diseases by eating tomatoes

Tomatoes are very rich source of vitamin A which improves eyesight and cures night blindness apart from preventing macular degeneration. Vitamin A is an anti-oxidant which is formed into body by excess of beta carotene. Antioxidants fight free radicals that prevent other problems related to vision.Apart from vitamin A,  tomato has  flavonoid B complex, thiamine, folate and niacin that also cure eye diseases and vision related ailments.

3) Eating tomatoes is good for keeping your bones healthy

Rich in calcium, tomato can make your bones strong  and prevent them from becoming brittle. Tomatoes are very rich in bone-protective anti-oxidants, beta carotene that keeps your bones and teeth healthy. Anti-oxidants present in bones protect your body from free radicals that damage your bones. Lycopene  protects and stimulates ostoblasts that are essential for bone building cells. So eating tomato ensures you healthy bones. Vitamin K present in tomato is also responsible for making your bones strong.

4) Anti-cancerous propertoes of tomato make it a mircale food

This red vegetable helps a lot in prevention of cancer as they prevent many unwanted reactions in lungs, colon and breast that cause cancer. Anti-oxidants present in tomato prevent the carcinogenic reaction in body by blocking free radicals. Study reveals that high level of lycopene present in red tomatoes can minimize the risk of prostate cancer, colorectal and stomach cancer. Lycopene is a powerful anti-oxidant that slows down the rate of growth of cancer cells. And cooked tomatoes have more lycopene than raw tomatoes so sip tomato soup or eat cooked tomatoes daily for prevention of cancerous cells in your body.

5) Eating tomatoes keeps your digestive system healthy

Tomatoes really help in making your digestive system healthy by curing diarrhea and constipation. Fiber is found abundantly in tomato so it helps in smooth excretion and keeps your bowel clean. Fiber also helps in stimulating the peristaltic in smooth digestive muscles and cures bloated stomach and acidity. Smooth and healthy digestive system keeps several diseases away and prevent conditions like colorectal cancer.

6) Eating tomatoes gives you flawless and healthy skin

Tomato is rich in anti-oxidants, lycopene that act as natural sunscreen. it protects your skin against photo damage ad skin cancer. Consumption of tomato can protect your skin against UV induced erythema. Not only eating, topical application of tomato is very useful for whitening and brightening your complexion. Tomato face masks are very effective in shielding your skin against harmful sun-rays that cause skin discoloration. Also, tomatoes are rich in vitamin A, C and beta carotene that neutralizes the harmful effects of free radicals. Free radicals cause skin darkening, premature wrinkles, pigmentation marks, acne and other blemishes on skin. Free radicals in blood can also lead to cell damage. So munch on tomato daily to counteract the skin damaging effects of free radicals and keep your skin healthy and flawless.

[Also Read: Benefits of Tomatoes for Skin]

7) Manage diabetes by eating tomatoes daily

Consumption of tomatoes keeps your blood sugar in control. A study by American  medical association that consumption of tomato reduces the oxidative stress of type 2 diabetes.  Enriched with chromium, so eating raw tomatoes daily keeps your blood sugar in control. Like all non-starchy foods, tomatoes have low GI level. Researchers have proved that eating tomatoes can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease associated with Type 2 diabetes. 

8) Cure urinary tract infections by munching on tomatoes

Consumption of tomato minimizes the chance of urinary tract infections as well as bladder infections. As tomatoes are high in water that stimulates urination so it being diuretic can flush out toxins from your body in form of salt, uric acids and some fats as well.

9) Tomatoes counteracts the harmful effects of smoking on body

Tomato can repair the damage done to body because of cigarette smoking. Tomato has coumaric acid and chlorogenic acid that protect your body from carcinogens that is produced in your body because of smoking. Regular consumption of tomatoes can repair the lung damages in body. Researchers have discovered that people who consumed more that 2 tomatoes a day experienced reduction in lung damage as compared to those who consumed  less than one tomato per day. So it is must to munch on 2-3 tomatoes daily for ex-smokers.

10) Eating tomatoes aids in weight loss

Tomatoes are really low in calories because one tomato contains only 18 mg of calories and eating 2 tomatoes per day  will give you less than 50 calories. And one cup of tomato contain 0.2 g of soluble fiber and 2 g of insoluble fiber. Both fiber are essential for weight loss. Soluble fiber in tomatoes forms a gel like substance in large intestine which works like food source to good gut bacteria. It helps to reduce the absortion of food making you fuller soon so it leads to weight loss. It has been proved that eating tomatoes can boost your lipid metabolism by stimulating the expression of genes associated with fatty acids oxidation.It helps in cutting calories and burn fat easily.

By now you know the best 10 benefits of eating tomatoes. So eat tomatoes either in raw form or cooked to derive the maximum benefits for your body. 

Even though tomatoes has lot of health benefits but it does not means that you eat them without considering its side effects. Here is the list of side effects and disadvantages of tomatoes that you must know about.