Eat This Red Vegetable for a Healthier Heart

Are you getting the recommended five to seven servings of fruits and vegetables a day? Most Americans aren't, and they're missing out on a cheap insurance policy against disease. Fruits and veggies are loaded with antioxidants to keep cells healthy, and they're a good source of fiber to help keep hearts healthy and waistlines slim.

Now, a new review published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine urges Americans to take a closer look at one of the healthiest red vegetables on the produce stand - the tomato. What can eating tomatoes do for you?

Eating Tomatoes: An Easy Vegetable to Eat

Tomatoes are brightly displayed on almost every produce stand and Farmer's market, and they're chock full of lycopene, a bright red carotenoid pigment. Carotenoids are strong antioxidants that help reduce inflammation in the body. Research is ongoing to look at their role in preventing heart disease and certain types of cancer.

The body best uses the lycopenes in tomatoes when you eat processed or cooked tomatoes - not raw ones. To get your daily dose of lycopenes, think spaghetti sauce, ketchup and tomato juice - not raw tomatoes. These forms of lycopenes are most bioavailable to the body, which means you'll get more health benefits.

More Good News about Eating Tomatoes

Some Americans don't enjoy the taste of spinach or broccoli, but almost everyone loves spaghetti sauce and ketchup. This makes tomatoes an easy sell - even to those who shun most veggies. If you get the lycopenes in tomatoes from ketchup or spaghetti sauce, look for one that's low in sugar. Heinz makes reduced-sugar ketchup, and it's available at most grocery stores. Look for a spaghetti sauce that has no more than 6 grams of sugar per serving.

Eat Tomatoes and Get Even More Benefits

Tomatoes are low in calories with only 32 calories per cup, and they're a good source of vitamin A, vitamin B6 and vitamin C. Each serving has only 5 grams of net carbs. They're the perfect food for people who are "watching their waistline".

Fun Ways to Eat Tomatoes

Enjoy tomato sauce not only on spaghetti and pizza but as a sauce for vegetables. Have a bowl of tomato soup for lunch with a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich made with low-fat cheddar cheese. Give tomatoes a unique flavor and enhance their lycopenes by roasting them at a high temperature in the oven. Juice them in a juicer at home and enjoy the fresh juice with a sprinkle of black pepper. For a completely different taste, make a tomato smoothie or tomato ice cream.

The Bottom Line

The lycopenes in tomatoes give them an edge nutritionally. Enjoy tomatoes in all of their different forms - and eat them to your health.

References:

Medical News Today. "Tomatoes: The New Superfood"

Calorie Count at About.com