“Tomato…is it a Fruit or a Vegetable?”
“He
that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skill of the physician”
- Chinese Proverb
- Chinese Proverb
The healing power of foods is emerging from
scientific research, due in large part to the growing interest of health minded
consumers. In fact, foods provided by Mother Nature have no confusion at all
with the life force within its creations. It is us, our human nature that has
the tomato confused, seeing it as a vegetable when it is actually a fruit.
“Foods with a purpose” is a new term awakening in
the food industry. In the scientific world these are known as “functional foods.”
These foods supply a therapeutic health benefit beyond the traditional
nutrients they contain to mediate many diseases of the modern age, as defined by
the Institute of Medicine.
Tomatoes are fruits!
Any food with seeds is classified as a fruit, even though we tend to consider
the tomato a vegetable. We may be confused about what tomatoes are, but the
tomato knows it contains a potent cancer fighting property within its fruity
substance called lycopene. The tomato contains many other phytochemicals, mainly
carotenoids and flavonols, which also have antioxidant activity. This matrix of
phytochemicals, working in combination with lycopene, is the primary reason the
tomato has superb health benefits and cancer protection.
In 1999, during the
meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, Kuck O. et al
presented a paper whose study showed a more direct relationship between the
consumption of lycopene and prostate cancer. Lycopene protects against cancer
by activating phase II enzymes, which defend against cancer activity.
You can get the
most medicinal value from tomatoes by cooking them. Lycopene seems to be
activated and becomes more bio-available when heated. Therefore, tomato sauce
and spaghetti sauce become food choices that work within your body to protect
your cells from cancer invaders.
