Everyone knows that eating fruits regularly is beneficial to health. However, which fruits offer greater health benefits, and what are good pairings? For these questions, most people are unclear. In fact, epidemiological experts have conducted extensive research on whether eating more vegetables and fruits can reduce the risk of cancer. When we eat fruits with some vegetables, it can have an unexpected effect on cancer prevention, such as pairing tomatoes with kale.
Tomatoes and Kale Together Can Prevent Cancer
Recently, researchers from the University of Illinois and the University of Columbus presented many convincing evidence in animal experiments that consuming tomatoes and kale together can inhibit the development of prostate cancer.
They injected the same number of prostate cancer cells under the skin of the lower abdomen of 206 male rats, then divided them into groups to observe the development of prostate cancer in the rats for 22 consecutive weeks. They added 10% tomato to the diet of the first group of rats, 10% kale to the second group, and 10% tomato and 10% kale to the third group.
Through observation, the rats that ate both tomatoes and kale simultaneously showed the most significant therapeutic effect, with tumors shrinking by as much as 52%, and those tumors grew slowly. Looking at the tissue sections of the tumors, cancer cell differentiation was delayed, but the degree of apoptosis of cancer cell nuclei was quite significant. It can be seen that eating tomatoes and kale together can indeed prevent the development of prostate cancer. Promoting the consumption of tomatoes and kale together will be a very meaningful thing for health.
What Kind of Tomatoes Might Be Harmful to Health?
Tomatoes are nutritious and suitable for all ages, but nowadays they make people feel increasingly "unreassured". The fruit body is all red, "obviously artificially ripened", and some have pointed tops and hard cores, which inevitably makes people hesitate when purchasing.
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, let alone an animal hormone. This plant growth hormone is used because the ripening process of tomatoes relies on the ethylene in their own bodies. After artificial addition of ethylene, it can "urge" the ripening of tomatoes. Ethylene is harmless to the human body and can volatilize under natural conditions, so it can be guaranteed to be safe.
If citizens still have concerns when selecting tomatoes, they can also adopt the method of "look, touch, and store":
Touch: The sign of a ripe tomato is softness, not hardness. If it feels like there is a distinct hard core inside, it's best not to buy it.
Look: Ripe tomatoes are uniformly red, and yellow varieties are bright yellow. If the color is uneven in depth, it's best not to choose it; the outline is natural, and "misshapen" tomatoes may be sweeter, but if there are obvious protrusions on the fruit, you can skip it. Also, in the same variety, if some have obvious pointed tops, it means it does not represent the characteristics of this variety and may be caused by excessive use of hormones.
Store: After buying tomatoes, it's best not to rush to eat them, because tomatoes have a "ripening" process, and the artificially ripening and reddening substance "ethylene" applied to the surface can continue to volatilize during this process. When eating, just rinse with clean water. If you really have a "psychological barrier" to ethylene, you can blanch it in boiling water, peel it, and then eat.
Fruit vegetables, compared to leafy vegetables, have fewer pests and diseases. Especially tomatoes, the pesticides used are relatively less, so the public can "eat with confidence".
7 "Unexpected" Facts About Tomatoes
1. Italian cuisine makes good use of tomatoes, leading people to mistakenly believe that tomatoes originated in Europe. In fact, its original place of origin is Mexico. 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 cancer, colon cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
4. Organic tomatoes contain many times more lycopene than ordinary tomatoes.
5. Tomatoes have the effect of stabilizing blood sugar and cholesterol because they are an important source of dietary fiber.
6. Tomatoes come in colors like red, yellow, orange, green, and purple, but not blue.
7. Canned tomato juice has higher nutritional value than fresh tomatoes. This is because commercially available fresh tomatoes are picked before they are ripe, while tomatoes used to make tomato juice are picked and processed after they are fully ripe and red. In addition, canned tomato juice is sterilized at high temperatures of 100°C and is suitable for people of any constitution to drink.