Anti Aging Foods – Tomatoes

Do you know the tomato is native to South America? Early evidence shows tomatoes were originally planted in the highlands of Peru. One species was then transported to Mexico where it was grown and consumed by the Aztecs people in 500 BC. But heck, does anyone really care where tomatoes are originated from! What we know is today, tomatoes are eaten throughout the world!

I know tomatoes as an antioxidant power house. I read that tomatoes are one of the richest sources of lycopene. And lycopene has long been regarded as one of the most powerful natural antioxidants around. Lycopene is a bright red carotenoid commonly found in tomatoes, carrots, papayas, watermelons and other red fruits and vegetables. What lycopene does? Lycopene helps to prevent some types of cancers, particularly prostate cancer. Other studies suggest lycopene can also help in preventing breast, colon and lung cancers. Besides, lycopene also improves the skin’s ability to protect against harmful ultraviolet rays, thus helpful in slowing down skin aging process. Other antioxidants present in tomatoes are anthocyanin, glutathione and many others. These antioxidants help to boost our immune system and thus stay away from cancers and other diseases.

Research shows that cooked tomato products can provide as many as 6 times the lycopene than equal amount of fresh tomatoes. This is because heat allows more antioxidants in tomatoes to be made available to the body. Seeing this, I would not hesitate to introduce to you one of my all time favorite tomato recipes in my next post. Stay tuned!

The Anti Aging Foods – Tomatoes by Anti Aging Tips, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.