What vitamins and minerals are found in tomatoes?

Among the nightshade crops, the most beloved tomato, although they appeared on our table not so long ago. But breeders delight with more and more interesting fruits of tomatoes. These are not only traditionally red species, but also yellow, orange, black.

In addition to pleasant sweetness, thick pulp, tomatoes are good for the human body. You need to know when they can be consumed in unlimited quantities, and when to refrain from including the vegetable in the diet.

Content:

• Vitamins and trace elements in tomatoes
• Calorie content, nutritional value of vegetable crops
• Useful properties of tomatoes
• Harm from their use
• The use of tomatoes
• How to choose, harvest and store tomatoes correctly

Vitamins and trace elements in tomatoes

The American continent gave the Europeans many useful plants, without which it is difficult to imagine our life. Tomatoes were especially fond of, although in Russia they began to be used only in the 18th century. But now it's hard to imagine a summer menu without them. The vegetable is good in salads, in marinade and brine for the winter. And although more than 90 percent of a tomato is water, it has a lot of benefits.

Most of all vitamins in the pulp and juice of tomatoes:

• Group B is called one of the most important valuable substances. Up to 15 percent of vitamins of this particular group are obtained from tomatoes. Every cell of the human body needs them. B2 helps cells receive oxygen, is responsible for their restoration. Thanks to this, the organs of vision function normally.
• To prevent the development of inflammatory processes, vitamin B5 is taken. The fruits of tomatoes will be supplied with the right amount, they will resist the introduction of infection.
• Vitamin B1 is the guardian of carbohydrate metabolism. For those on a diet, it is irreplaceable.
• Vitamin A has a special role, it strengthens the visual receptors, is responsible for the functioning of the eyes.
• Vitamin E is actively involved in the metabolism of liver and nervous system tissues.
• Vitamin K helps to maintain normal urinary tract organs. Diabetics need it to stabilize blood sugar levels.
• Vitamin C is known as an element that is necessary to prevent flu, colds, and inflammation. It strengthens the walls of blood vessels, heart muscle.

The trace elements contained in tomatoes also have a positive effect. Magnesium calms the nervous system, protects against stress. Potassium is essential for the heart. Without iron, the composition of the blood changes, leading to anemia. It is enough to eat five tomatoes every day - and cancer will be bypassed. Pink tomato varieties are especially useful in this sense. They contain selenium, which is a barrier to the development of cancer cells, strengthens the immune system, and improves brain activity.

They are saturated with tomatoes quickly, since the chromium in their composition reduces the feeling of hunger.

Among the antioxidants, red fruits are high in lycopene. It is known that lovers of red vegetables will not develop prostate cancer or vascular atherosclerosis.The composition of tomatoes is rich, so they can fill the gaps in the amount of vitamins and minerals in the human body.

Calorie content, nutritional value of vegetable crops

When they talk about diets for weight loss, they remember tomato... One hundred grams of the product contains no more than twenty kilocalories. Most of all carbohydrates, their amount reaches seventeen kilocalories, and fats and proteins by two. The fruits contain both sugars and organic acids.

Regardless of the variety, tomatoes reduce blood cholesterol levels and maintain acid-base balance.

Sitting on a tomato diet, you can forget about the problem of sagging skin, as the vegetable strengthens collagen fibers. Within twenty minutes after eating tomato salad, persistent saturation is felt. And overeating is not threatened.

Unloading with tomatoes involves restricting nutrition with the inclusion of whole fruits and tomato juice in the diet. You can add a boiled egg for breakfast, a bowl of cooked rice for lunch during the day, and end the day with a slice of boiled chicken along with two tomatoes. But eating for more than three days is so dangerous. Drink plenty of water during the diet. Before you start eating tomatoes alone, you need to consult with specialists.

Useful properties of tomatoes

Tomatoes are not a panacea for all diseases, but they should be consumed by those who suffer from coronary heart disease, angina pectoris. After all, the substances contained in tomatoes destroy bad cholesterol, making the walls of blood vessels strong and elastic.

If the patient has stomach pains associated with gastritis, ulcers, then tomatoes will help cleanse the intestines of toxins. But don't forget about the acids in tomatoes. With increased acidity of the stomach, you can not get carried away with a vegetable. Since tomatoes have a positive effect on metabolic processes, they are recommended for people with diabetes, obesity, and thyroid disorders.

Bad mood, depression, loss of energy are perfectly cured by tomatoes.

Tomatoes, as a mild laxative, contribute to natural weight loss. The benefits lie not only in the fruits of the tomato, but also in the tops. An infusion of leaves and stems is used to treat rheumatism. An alcohol-based extract of the green parts of the plant will quickly cope with high blood pressure.

Interestingly, there is an opinion about the influence of tomatoes on the deposition of salts due to the content of oxalic acid in them. But it turns out that this is not true, because in potatoes, beets acid ten times more.

Harm from their use

There are also unpleasant consequences from excessive consumption of vegetables:

• As with all red foods, hypersensitive people can have an allergic reaction.
• The harm from taking the fruit is expressed in the form of salt deposits in the joints. They may cause gout attacks and develop arthritis.
• The diuretic effect leads to chronic cystitis in women.
• Tomato is absolutely contraindicated for those who have gastritis with high acidity. Then stomach pains, heartburn cannot be avoided.
• Children can have a product starting from eight months in the absence of contraindications.
• And women who are breastfeeding, pregnant women should think about moderation, since excessive consumption of vegetable fruits leads to an upset of the gastrointestinal tract.

The permissible norm for the use of tomato fruits is 750 grams per day and no more.

The use of tomatoes

There are several recipes for using tomatoes for medical purposes:

1. Tomatoes are used to treat the stomach as follows: boiled pumpkin in an amount of two hundred grams is mixed with a small amount of butter. Then, two glasses of freshly prepared tomato juice are poured into the mass. Take a drink twice a day after meals for two weeks.
2. Rubbed tomatoes in the form of compresses are applied to purulent wounds, ulcers.
3. Weakness of the immune system is cured by a drink made from tomato juice, cabbage brine, apple juice, taken in equal quantities. Sugar is added to the mixture to taste.
4. Green tomatoes, applied by a cut to the venous nodes, help with varicose veins. The course of treatment lasts up to two weeks.
5. Fifty grams of tomato tops are poured with the same amount of vodka. Insist in a dark place for two weeks. After straining, take ten to twenty drops before meals up to four times a day. The tincture relieves high blood pressure, improves intestinal motility.
6. An infusion of tops is poured into a hot bath (a kilogram of raw materials per three liters of boiling water). Taking water treatments is useful for people with sore joints.
7. A mask of tomatoes mixed with egg white reduces the oily skin, with flour - nourishes the skin with moisture.

How to choose, harvest and store tomatoes correctly

Harvests tomato are large, but they are not always used correctly. Therefore, so often useful fruits are thrown into a landfill. Start picking tomatoes when they are ripe. The ripeness stage of the fruit is determined by its color. Tomatoes are green at first, then they become milky, brown, pink. The red color of the fruit indicates the full ripeness of the vegetable. You won't be able to store them for a long time - after four days they will start to deteriorate.

Ripe, soft tomatoes are used for processing into tomato juice, tomato paste. But usually brown fruits are pickled, salted. Taken from the bushes, they last a week. Unripe tomatoes are removed to put them in a container for artificial ripeness.

To preserve the fruits of tomatoes, they are carefully selected and sorted.

They must be intact, no damage. Wooden boxes are best suited for storage, which can hold up to twelve kilograms of vegetables. The containers are placed in a dry, ventilated room, where the fruits will lie for up to two months. Sheltered from the light in the basement, they can survive until January.

The bottom of the container is covered with dry straw, heat-insulating materials in the form of polyurethane balls, and the top is closed with a tight lid. The air temperature should be three to five degrees below zero. Milk fruits will quickly turn red if they are brought into the heat for three to four days. I would like to pamper myself and my children with fresh tomatoes - you need to learn how to store them correctly.

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