They’re commonly mistaken for vegetables, probably first came to Europe through Columbus, and exist in over 10,000 varieties. Tomatoes (fruits) are also very good for your health.

This is in part due to a powerful anti -oxidant, Lycopene. It is a constituent of watermelon, grapefruit (high proportions in ones with a pink / red colouring) and papaya and in the main, tomatoes. According to The Denver Naturopathic clinic, they are the source of more than 80% of Lycopene’s consumption in the US, the amount varying according to how red the tomato is.

Lycopene is one substance that aids quality sleep, and as an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory aid, it is thought to have numerous health benefits. Some evidence suggests that it can reduce the risk of various forms of cancer by stimulating enzyme-producing cells that get rid of free radicals. One study showed that lycopene had a positive effect on healthy women at high risk from breast cancer.

Another indicated a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer in men. In other parts of the body where oxidative stress can be a strong catalyst for cancer, the absorption of tomato products rich in lycopene is thought to have a preventative effect.

In Finland, a group of researchers completed a 12 year study in 2012 in which a thousand middle-aged men were monitored. The results stated that those who with more lycopene in their blood, had lower chances of having a stroke, particularly those caused by blood clotting.

Scientists have also been working to understand more about lycopene’s properties. They have found that when its molecules are combined with fat and heat, such as with tomatoes and olive oil in a frying pan, they are restructured in a way that enables them to be absorbed into the bloodstream more easily. They observed that lycopene molecules found in human blood have a bent formation that enables them to be transported to tissues.

Stephen Schwartz, a professor of Food Science at Ohio State University has created a method for processing tomatoes into a sauce which includes bent lycopene molecules, a not often-cited example of a processed food being linked with good health and wellbeing. Consumption of the sauce has led to far higher amounts of lycopene absorbed into the blood than after eating regular tomato sauce.

Tomatoes are not the only vegetables whose nutritional value is said to improve when heated. The goodness in broccoli, peppers and spinach is better absorbed when steamed. Onion and garlic are
more likely to play a role in reducing heart disease if they are cooked.

Want to know how natural food and food substances can improve health? Check out our Bachelor of Science in Naturopathy and CAM Therapies.