Food of the Month - The Tomato
By Big Les MuscleTalk Moderator

Let's answer the ultimate question first; the tomato is actually a fruit, not a vegetable! However, we use it like a vegetable because of its taste. It seems to have originated in South America with eight different species still being found the Andes of Peru. The humble tomato is a staple of the western diet, forming the basis of many a rich and tasty sauce. For this reason alone many of the more health conscious often only invite the tomato in for their salads or as a dab of ketchup now and again. However, we should not shun the tomato, as it is the main source of the carotenoid lycopene. The pigment lycopene has received some recent media attention and rightly so, as studies have linked this powerful antioxidant to some very beneficial effects. Among these are a lowering of the risk of heart disease and prostrate cancer, and further research reveals that lycopene and other carotenoids have a host of further health benefits.
In addition to this the tomato is a good source of zinc, which for any athlete is good news because zinc is lost through sweat. We also find in our tomato good amounts of calcium and vitamin C, which again are great things to be taking on board. In fact if we look at the tomato we find it has traces of a number of amino acids and minerals, which while not earth shattering to read at levels of 0.015mg per 100g, are amounts which our bodies can use to help us achieve our goals.
These health benefits don't come easy, to get the best from our tomato, especially in terms of lycopene, ideally it has to be heated and combined with a fat, because lycopene is fat soluble. Just downing juice and eating raw tomatoes are not the best way to have our little red friend. Instead, making an olive oil and tomato sauce will give us the best nutritional benefit, so there has never been a better time to experiment with homemade tomato based sauces.

Source: BB - The MuscleTalker ? Issue 54 (October 2006)