Vegetable or fruit? Tomatoes are great
In these glorious tomato growing months from June to September, the best tasting tomatoes are those grown close to home.
Before the 19th century, Europeans referred to tomatoes as “poisonous apples,” according to an informative article on this topic in a recent issue of Food and Nutrition. Diners in those days mistakenly blamed tomatoes for what actually was lead poisoning — caused when the mild acid in tomatoes leached lead from the pottery dishes from which they ate their meals. Now we know that tomatoes are rich in health promoting properties. They in fact play a big role in the recommended eating pattern we know as the Mediterranean diet.
And here’s a trivia question: Are tomatoes a vegetable or a fruit? Both are correct. By botanical definition, tomatoes are fruits — the seed bearing parts of flowering plants. Since 1893 however, tomatoes have been designated as vegetables by the U.S. government.
And nutritionally, tomatoes are indeed closer to vegetables than to fruit. They are low in calories (one cup of regular or cherry tomatoes has about 30 calories) and high in nutrients including potassium (important for blood pressure control) and vitamins A and C. Tomatoes are also rich in carotenoids — natural antioxidant substances such as betacarotene, lutein and lycopene. Lycopene is the pigment that give tomatoes their rich red colour. And researchers have found many benefits from eating this compound. At the cellular level, lycopene appears to protect our body cells from the stresses of everyday living. Researchers are especially interested in the protective effects of lycopene and other carotenoids on the prevention of cancer.