The Health Benefits of Tomatoes

Prostate Cancer Prevention
Epidemiological studies have suggested a potential benefit of the lycopene in tomatoes against the risk of prostate cancer, particularly the more lethal forms of prostate cancer. Several studies support a reduction in prostate cancer risk associated with high tomato or lycopene consumption. Other studies, mostly dietary case-control studies, have not been as supportive of the benefit of lycopene against prostate cancer. The reasons for these inconsistencies are unclear, but in some studies, tomato consumption or serum lycopene level may have been too low to observe an effect. A large prospective dietary study in male health professionals concluded that frequent consumption of tomato products is associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer, and intake of tomato sauce was associated with an even greater reduction in prostate cancer risk.

The results of yet another large prospective study involving 692 prostate cancer cases and 844 randomly selected matched controls suggest that lycopene or tomato based products will not be effective for prostate cancer prevention.
The reported correlations or associations between the consumption of tomato products and prostate cancer risk should not be interpreted as causal until additional data are available from a variety of studies in different populations. Ideally, randomized controlled intervention studies would provide an ultimate test of the tomato/lycopene prostate cancer hypothesis.

Cholesterol Reduction
In a study conducted to investigate the effects of increased dietary intake of tomato products on plasma lipids and LDL cholesterol, it was concluded that a high dietary intake of tomato products significantly reduced LDL cholesterol levels.

Inflammation
Ferulic acid is a phytochemical found in tomatoes, and is an effective scavenger of free radicals and may protect against various inflammatory diseases.

Thrombosis
Another study has demonstrated that tomatoes might be beneficial in the prevention of arterial thrombotic diseases.

Glycemic Index (GI)
In a study to determine the estimated GI of various foods, it was concluded that canned tomato juice and tomato soup has a low GI of 38.

Nutrients
Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A, C, and K. They a very good source of dietary fiber, chromium, manganese, potassium, and vitamin B1. They are a good source of magnesium, folate, phosphorus, niacin, vitamin E, B6 and B2, copper, pantothenic acid, iron, and protein.