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If you look around your local supermarket, it may appear that there are essentially
two types of tomatoes, big ones and small ones. But the truth is that in most retail stores, there are at least 10 fresh tomato varieties, ranging from cherry to vine-ripened. And when it comes to the varieties available for your home garden, there are over 400 to choose from.All modern domestic tomatoes (known botanically as Solanum lycopersicum, which by the way means “nightshade wolf peach” for no reason that I could figure out from an exhaustive 3-minute Google search) are remarkably similar, genetically. Taken together, they possess no more than 5% of the total genetic variation present within the wild species and primitive varieties.
Some of the types most commonly seen in grocery stores include:
- Grape Tomatoes
- Beefsteak Tomatoes (Green or Red)
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Cocktail Tomatoes
- Roma Tomatoes
- Heirloom Tomatoes
- Tomatoes on the Vine
Typically, tomatoes are green when unripe and become red as they ripen. But they also come in many different colors outside of what you’ll find in the grocery store. At some farmers markets, CSAs, or if growing your own tomatoes, you may come across yellow, orange, pink, green, burgundy, purple, streaked and striped, and brown or practically black tomatoes.
And if you’re growing them at home, no matter what their color, tomatoes all have the same needs — full sun, fertile soil, and water.
Tomato Nutrition
Regardless of the variety you choose, tomatoes are full of healthy nutrients. They’re a great source of potassium and vitamin C and are a hydrating food due to their high moisture content.
Tomatoes are also packed with health-promoting antioxidants and phytochemicals, including several beneficial forms of vitamin A such as lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene.
Tomatoes are one of the best sources of lycopene, which helps reduce inflammation and is beneficial for conditions related to oxidative stress. Lycopene also appears to have strong anti-cancer properties, particularly in studies with men and prostate cancer. Lycopene may be the most famous antioxidant in tomatoes, but it appears in other red plant foods as well.
How much lycopene you can find in any given tomato is anyone’s guess. However, in one study, the amount of lycopene was reported to range from 2.5 to 200 mg/100 g in raw tomatoes — a factor of 80. The level of lycopene is directly related to ripeness and increased pH (that is, lower acidity). So the better tasting the fruit (OK, vegetable), the better it probably is for you.
To enhance your absorption of lycopene from tomatoes, eat them with some healthy fat. Lycopene is a carotenoid, which is a fat-soluble compound. As such, eating it alongside some fat can help boost its bioavailability for your body. Cultures that serve tomatoes with olive oil or avocadoes seem to have known this instinctively.
Studies tell us that heating tomatoes can increase the amount of lycopene that the body will absorb, by breaking down plant cells that trap the lycopene (puréeing has this effect as well). According to one study in the Journal of Food Science, the best ways to cook tomatoes and retain as much lycopene as possible are either by using the microwave or the stovetop.
5 Health Benefits of Tomatoes
The health benefits of tomatoes are best seen in their whole food form. In other words, when all their natural nutrients are intact and there’s been no high fructose corn syrup, excess sodium, or other unwanted ingredients added to them.
In their most natural form, tomatoes may offer the following benefits to your health.
1. Anticancer Properties
We already established that tomatoes are chock full of antioxidants, which can help protect your cells from oxidative damage that can lead to diseases like cancer. The most studied anticancer compound in tomatoes has been lycopene, which, in addition to helping inhibit prostate cancer, may also help to fight gastric cancer.
2. Cardioprotective Benefits
It’s possible that a tomato a day may help keep the heart doctor away. Research shows that the amount of lycopene circulating in your blood is inversely proportional to the incidence of heart diseases. Why? Lycopene appears to reduce the risk for inflammatory disorders, such as atherosclerosis, or the buildup of plaque in your arteries that can lead to a heart attack or stroke. It also modulates cholesterol, which plays a major role in your protection against atherosclerosis and heart disease.
3. Anti-Aging Benefits
The antioxidants in tomatoes don’t just help protect you against chronic diseases. They may also help keep your skin looking younger by preventing photodamage. One 2019 study found that lycopene supplementation resulted in higher blood levels and may have a skin-rejuvenating effect on middle-aged people. What’s more, one study found that green tomatoes contain a compound called tomatidine, which may improve the efficacy and strength of your cellular signaling, and even extend lifespan. So if you garden, and have some green tomatoes that may not survive the first frost, you can pick them early and maybe live longer!
4. Eye Health
That’s right, protecting your eyes isn’t just about wearing sunglasses or getting an annual vision exam. You can protect your eyes with what you eat every day, including making tomatoes a part of your regular diet. Tomatoes are high in vitamin C, which is a major structural component of blood vessels and tissues in your eyes. They’re also a rich source of vitamin A, which lowers your risk for age-related macular degeneration and is an essential part of rhodopsin, a light-absorbing protein in your retinal receptors. Side note, if you’re interested in learning more about the top foods that are good for eye health, check out our article here!
5. Offers Protection Against Respiratory Disorders
Lycopene appears to have a protective effect in respiratory conditions like asthma and COPD, and one study even found that lycopene could suppress airway inflammation in asthma. Other research has suggested that eating antioxidant-rich tomatoes may even help slow the decline of lung function, especially among people with a history of smoking cigarettes who have since quit.
Potential Downsides to Eating Tomatoes
Despite all of their wonderful health benefits, tomatoes may also come with a few reasons for some people to avoid them.
Allergies and Reactions
While tomato allergies are rare, especially ones that can cause severe reactions, they can still happen. According to reports, some possible symptoms of a tomato allergy may include swelling and irritation of the skin, inflammation and runny nose, and abdominal pain.
Some people also experience what’s called oral allergy syndrome, which is a contact reaction to ingesting certain foods and pollen that can cause your mouth and throat to become itchy. Others may experience latex cross-reactivity after eating tomatoes (as well as bananas, avocado, kiwi, and chestnuts), which is when your immune system overreacts to proteins that are found in natural rubber latex. And if you ever experience symptoms ranging from a stuffy nose to migraine after eating tomatoes, you may have histamine intolerance. Tomatoes have high levels of histamine in them, which can trigger a response we think of as an allergic reaction, although this isn’t the same as having an allergy per se.
GERD and Reflux
Tomatoes are highly acidic, and therefore often considered a trigger food for people with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or acid reflux, in which stomach contents flow back up through the esophagus and cause irritation. While this isn’t a given, it’s something to be aware of if you suffer from these types of conditions.
The Nightshade Controversy
This isn’t really a downside, but I want to shed some light on the nightshade controversy. The bottom line is that most people don’t really have a problem with the edible members of this family of foods (such as bell peppers, eggplants, potatoes, and tomatoes). While nightshades do contain toxic compounds called alkaloids, particularly one called solanine, they’re highly unlikely to contain them in amounts that are dangerous. In fact, most nightshades contain around 2-13 mg of solanine each. And with a potentially toxic intake of around 400 mg, you’d probably have to eat well over 30 tomatoes in one sitting to put yourself at any degree of risk.
While most healthy people probably don’t need to put much thought into avoiding tomatoes and other nightshades, a few groups may want to steer clear. People with inflammatory bowel diseases may experience intestinal permeability, which could worsen with excessive intake of the fiber in tomatoes. Additionally, some people with autoimmune diseases report feeling fewer symptoms when they avoid nightshades, though most of these are anecdotal and likely depend on the individual.
Pesticides and Tomatoes
Tomatoes were also listed as #12 on the Environmental Working Group’s annual Dirty Dozen list this year. This means that tomatoes are among the produce most likely to have contamination from pesticides when grown conventionally, compared to other types of produce. So tomatoes are a good crop to grow yourself or buy organically grown if you can.
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