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TOMATO , A NATURAL SOURCE OF LYCOPENE

 

Tomatoes constitute an excellent food for those who want to adopt a natural diet. They present in their composition a series of elements very appropriate to detoxify the organism and to prevent the appearance of many illnesses:

The first of them is denominated lycopene, a component to which tomato owes its red colour, with similar properties to the betacarotenes of the carrots it has anticancerous properties . Lycopene seems to reduce the probabilities of many cancers, such as those affecting the prostate , the lungs, the stomach, the bladder, and the uterus. Lycopene appears in fresh tomatoes, but especially in cooked ones , since cooking helps to liberate this element and to facilitate the absorption by the organism. Eating tomato in Ketchup or any other food cooked with tomato sauce can constitute a good way to take care of health, preventing the cancer, or reducing cholesterol.

Glutation is another component with proved antioxidant properties that helps to eliminate free radicals, responsible for the appearance of many illnesses, among those, the most terrible one: cancer. This element, that appears with the biggest quantity in broccolis, is fundamentally in the skin of vegetables, so that we should eat tomatoes raw in salad. Glutation is a very appropriate element in the elimination of the body toxins , especially of heavy metals that produce deterioration of the organism by its accumulation. Tomato has been proved to help to eliminate lead efficiently. Other rich foods in this component are: garlic, potato, spinachs, corn or portulaca. Besides this property, we should stand out its capacity to lower blood pressure , to favor the good state of our liver or to prevent eczema.

Other beneficial components to detoxify the organism are vitamin C and vitamin A. Tomato is very rich in both of them. Vitamin A was the first to be discovered in 1913. It helps the body to attain cellular growth, to maintain the bones and the teeth in good state, to help the immunologic system to combat infections, and to maintain sight in good state. When it was discovered, it was thought that one could only obtain it from animals, from their liver and from their eggs. But it took a long time to be discovered that it could also be obtained from carotenes and especially from beta-carotene that is especially in many vegetables. Vitamin A is an essential vitamin whose daily dose is established between 4000 - 5000 IU . Higher doses in a continuous intake can be toxic, producing a state of hypervitaminosis that appears as muscular weakness , blurred vision, hair loss, bad skin, diarrhea ...etc. Complements of vitamin A should not be given to pregnant women to avoid that anomalies to the fetus could take place.

It is very rich in potassium, a mineral that intervenes in the regulation of the corporal liquids as well as in the good state of the nerves, the heart and the muscles. Together with the calcium, very abundant also in the tomato, it intervenes in the formation of the bones.

Tomato is considered to be a good aphrodisiac since it has been proved that eating fresh tomatoes increases the sexual desire.