Tomatoes

The main component of tomatoes is water: approximately 94% of a tomato’s weight is water. This gives them their freshness and great flavour, making them an excellent base for many sauces such as the ever-popular Bolognese. 

Tomatoes are a powerful addition to your diet

One of the main benefits of tomatoes is that they help to control your weight, since 100 grams of tomato only contains 18 calories (kcal). What’s more, less than 4% of the serving weight is carbohydrates, split between sugars and dietary fibres that are essential for our body. Does the good news end there? Absolutely not! Tomatoes are also a great source of vitamins and minerals.

Rich in vitamins and minerals 

Retinol (vitamin A), thiamine (vitamin B1), niacin (vitamin B3), B6, C, E, K. tomatoes are a multivitamin complex. 100 grams will provide between 3 – 8% of an adult’s recommended daily intake.  Not least vitamin C. Just 100 grams of tomato contains 23% of your daily vitamin C requirements. Magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and potassium are just some of the minerals that we get from eating tomatoes. Being low in sodium, they are also recommended to people suffering from hypertension. 

Other benefits of tomatoes 

Have you heard of lycopene? It’s an antioxidant substance present in tomatoes that helps prevent heart problems, and regular consumption has been shown to lower levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. If you want to increase your fibre intake and improve your digestive health, it’s best to eat tomatoes with the skin on. The fibre will help to prevent constipation and diarrhoea. Other studies suggest that tomatoes can counteract the harmful effects of tobacco to some extent, help the skin to counteract the effects of UV rays and, thanks to their natural antioxidants, prevent aging.