Tomatoes are nutritious and suitable for all ages. Tomatoes indeed have many health benefits, but at the same time, some can pose health risks. It all depends on whether you can pick the right tomatoes.
Unexpected Benefits of Tomatoes
1. Italian cuisine makes great use of tomatoes, leading people to mistakenly believe that tomatoes originated in Europe. In fact, their original home is Mexico, and Columbus brought tomato seeds to Europe for the first time.
2. Eating more tomatoes can reduce wound infections because they are rich in antioxidants.
3. Tomatoes are most effective in preventing prostate, colon, and pancreatic cancer.
4. Organic tomatoes contain many times more lycopene than regular tomatoes.
5. Tomatoes help stabilize blood sugar and cholesterol levels because they are an important source of dietary fiber.
6. Tomatoes come in red, yellow, orange, green, and purple, but there are no blue tomatoes.
What kinds of tomatoes might be harmful to your health?
Tomatoes are nutritious and suitable for all ages, but nowadays, people are feeling increasingly "uneasy" about them. The fruit is uniformly bright red, "obviously artificially ripened," and some have pointed tops and hard cores, which makes buyers hesitant.
The substance that makes tomatoes ripen and turn red early is "ethylene," applied to the surface of the tomatoes. Ethylene is a plant growth hormone, not a chemical substance, and certainly not an animal hormone. This plant growth hormone is used because the tomato's own ripening process relies on the ethylene produced by its body. By adding artificial ethylene, it can "urge" the tomatoes to ripen. Ethylene is harmless to the human body and can volatilize naturally, ensuring safety.
When selecting tomatoes, follow the "look, touch, and store" method:
Touch: The sign of a ripe tomato is that it is soft, not hard. If it feels like there is a distinct hard core inside, it's best not to buy it.
Look: Ripe tomatoes are uniformly red, while yellow varieties are a bright yellow. If the color is uneven, it's best to avoid it. The shape should be natural; "misshapen" tomatoes might be sweeter, but if the fruit has obvious bumps, you can pass on it. Also, within the same variety, if some have distinct pointed tops, it means this is not a characteristic of the variety and may be due to excessive use of hormones.
Store: When you first bring tomatoes home, it's best not to rush to eat them. Tomatoes have a "ripening" process, and the artificial ripening agent "ethylene" on their surface can continue to volatilize during this time. When eating, just rinse them with clean water. If you have a "psychological barrier" to ethylene, you can scald them with boiling water, peel the skin, and then eat.
Among fruit vegetables, they have fewer pests and diseases compared to leafy vegetables. Tomatoes, in particular, are relatively low in pesticides, so the public can "eat with confidence."