Tomato is a Functional Food

This is my review of a tomato nutrition study. In which I will explain the key points for healthy eaters. So this is for people who are concerned about how tomatoes affects certain diseases. Because it helps you discuss your diet concerns with health professionals. In the hope that you can support your doctor’s treatment plan with better food choices.

Citation for Tomato is a Functional Food

This is a Foodary review of:
Canene-Adams, Kirstie, Jessica K. Campbell, Susan Zaripheh, Elizabeth H. Jeffery, and John W. Erdman Jr. "The tomato as a functional food." The Journal of nutrition 135, no. 5 (2005): 1226-1230.

At the time of writing, this study has been cited by 405 other studies.

Functional Tomato Food Purpose

This study recognizes the importance of tomato nutrition. It seeks to promote further research into understanding how diets can be adapted to reduce incidence of heart and blood vessel diseases and prostate cancer.

a successful nutrition intervention could have a profound impact on health care cost and improvement in quality of life. A great deal of research is needed to determine the mechanisms by which diet may delay or prevent the onset of CVD [cardiovascular disease] and prostate cancer.

Jargon-free Facts

In this jargon-free review I present the key facts from the original study. Replacing jargon with terms more familiar to unqualified people interested in healthy eating. Note that my selection of jargon terms might not match yours. So please ask in the feedback form near the end of the page if you need clarification.

Functional Tomato Food Key Facts

These are the key facts from the abstract, (original reproduced in footnotes).

Tomatoes are nutritionally important because:

  1. High frequent consumption of tomatoes make them significant in dietary interventions.
  2. Decreased prostate cancer risk.
  3. Decreased heart and blood vessel disease risk.

Functional Tomato Food Other Facts

Other Popular Vegetables
Carrots, Onions, Head lettuce, Potatoes, Snap beans, Pickles, Corn.
Catsup, Tomato juice, Tomato sauce, Tomato soup, Tomato paste.
Main Tomato Nutrients
Potassium, folate, and the vitamins A, C, and E (alpha-tocopherol).

Other nutrients are discussed with reference to various scientific studies. Where relevant, I will review those studies separately. Because this review focuses on the important nutritional facts. As revealed in the conclusion…

Functional Tomato Food Conclusions

Tomatoes are a healthy food choice. Especially if your doctor advises you need to reduce the risk of heart and blood vessel diseases or prostate cancer.

“Overall, no matter if you are trying to reduce the risk of CVD [cardiovascular disease] or prostate cancer, a diet that regularly contains tomatoes appears to be a healthy choice and beneficial for us all.”

Tomatoes are a Functional Food

Tomatoes are a Functional Food

Cited By

Tomato Nutrition Facts
Do tomatoes affect your wellbeing? Is your illness affected by tomato eating? Do tomatoes help or hinder your health? Get Tomato Nutrition Facts now.

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Functional Tomato Food Vocabulary

  • cardiovascular

    ⇢ heart and blood vessels

  • epidemiology

    ⇢ the study of how often diseases occur in different groups of people and why. Epidemiological information is used to plan and evaluate strategies to prevent illness and as a guide to the management of patients in whom disease has already developed.

  • lycopene

    ⇢ plant nutrient with antioxidant properties.

  • prostate

    ⇢ small gland in the pelvis, found only in men.

Original Abstract

Details of scientific methods and individual nutrients are beyond the scope of this review. So I’ve omitted them from this review and from this abstract:

Tomatoes are the fourth most commonly consumed fresh vegetable and the most frequently consumed canned vegetable in the American diet. There is emerging epidemiology data supporting the connection between increased tomato consumption and reduced risk for both cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer. […] Due to the frequency and the extent of tomato consumption, the supporting epidemiological and animal data, which connect increased intakes with decreased cancer and cardiovascular disease risk, tomato’s role in the American diet is of undeniable importance as part of a healthy diet.

[Publisher’s Keywords]

Keywords: tomato, lycopene, prostate cancer, cardiovascular disease

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