Tomatoes - Good or bad for you?

[jbischke]

I'm curious.

Why they might be bad:

Highly acidic - If you buy into the acid/alkaline theory then you'd want to avoid them because they are very acidic.

Inflammatory - Are tomatoes inflammatory? I've read some things that say they are.

Why they might be good:

Lycopene - Have heard a host of good things about lycopene. And apparently the best way to get it is through cooked tomato products?

Water-rich foods - Water-rich foods (veggies) are good no? Tomatoes are a water-rich food.

Please feel free to weigh in here in favor or against Mr. Tomato.

[Belinda]

Ohh yummo tomatoes! i have been craving these little yummy guys lately... funny you post this!

According to Dr Joshi ripe raw tomatoes are not acidic. Cooked tomatoes (as in pasta sauce, tomato soup, pizza topping) is highly acidic to your system and should be avoided.


Nothing beats the taste of a home grown tomato!

[escapee]

I think Tomatoes have great nutritional values , but as with any food , it shouldnt be consumed in excessive amount.

Just last week we had a mom suffering fatal water intoxication as a result of drinking too much H20 . So you get the clue .

[kpreston]

I only get my information from the best sources.

tomatoes are evil

[dor]

Originally Posted by kpreston

I only get my information from the best sources.

tomatoes are evil

EVERYONE who ate a tomato in 1795 is now DEAD. They're killers I tell you!

kpreston....is this site serious? I thought it was a joke. ..

seriously i agree with escapee.....i try to include sauce in my diet at least weekly...but as always listen to your body - some people get acid reflux from tomato sauce and obviously shouldn't eat it as much ...

[jbischke]

So it's interesting in that I've heard that cooked tomatoes (e.g., sauce) is actually better in terms of lycopene (I think, don't quote me...). But then raw is less acidic? Hmmm...

[hugcirqui]

This is an interesting discussion. thank you for sharing

[aelle]

Originally Posted by kpreston

I only get my information from the best sources.

tomatoes are evil

I totally support you.

Here is more proof of the danger of tomatoes:

YouTube - Attack of the Killer Tomatoes - intro song

Beware!

[garentee]

Tomatoes are definitely good for me. Good for my health and taste buds and definitely my wallet... People come from miles around to taste my tomatoes! Heirloom tomatoes especially Black Krim are amazing. OK thats it..

[ginkgo]

This site be say (what kind of English is that) that tomatoes are alkaline! List of Alkaline Foods | Acid Alkaline Food This idea is simple. The alkaline foods are the healthy foods or plant foods whereas the acid are the animal and man-made foods.

Tomatoes are known as wolf peaches and are part of the deadly nightshade group of plants that are horrible for you. Other deadly nightshade family vegetables are eggplant and potatoes. Sorry. This is old news and I never bought into it.

But they are not the best source of lycopene that makes the tomato red. A great source is watermelon and red grapefruit. But sources that are much higher than tomatoes are goji berries and gac fruit has 70 times the lycopene that is in tomatoes.

Tomatoes are non-sweet fruit like cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, pumpkin and squash. This page with natural cures lists tomatoes as cures for some health problems according to the USDA.

[liamona]

I weigh in favor of Mr. Tomato!

Originally Posted by ginkgo

This idea is simple. The alkaline foods are the healthy foods or plant foods whereas the acid are the animal and man-made foods.

Not quite that simple—cooked animal foods eaten with bones or bone broth are quite alkaline, therefore making them extremely digestible.

[James81]

I have acid reflux, so here's my experiences with tomatoes and the effects they have on me:

Raw tomatoes...I love 'em! Especially fresh garden tomatoes. I can eat them until my mouth bleeds. Or with cottage cheese on them. Fantastic. Has a very mild effect (if any) on my reflux. I do notice that I don't digest them as well as other foods, though and they linger longer.

Cooked tomato products...chili, spaghetti, and pizza give me heartburn. Especially chili. Bad thing is, I LOVE those foods. If I take the prilosec, though, they don't bother me. But I know if I miss a day without the pill, eating those foods will give me massive heartburn.

[garentee]

Tomatoes are non-sweet fruit like cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, pumpkin and squash.


Clearly you have never eaten a sun gold or any of the black tomatoes.. try them...Ok I will stop... sort of.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by jbischke

I'm curious.

Why they might be bad:

Highly acidic - If you buy into the acid/alkaline theory then you'd want to avoid them because they are very acidic.

Inflammatory - Are tomatoes inflammatory? I've read some things that say they are.

Please feel free to weigh in here in favor or against Mr. Tomato.

I weigh in in favor of Mr. Tomato. There is one possible issue as they are relatively high in sodium which can be a problem for some people.

[andrew112]

Nope. Tomatoes are good, as long as they're eaten raw. Here are the nutrition facts for tomatoes: Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average [Includes USDA commodity food A238, A233]

As you can see, they do contain some glucose and fructose, but consider the fact that the tomato is a food that was put here by God, not man, and that it is in an unaltered state, as long as it's eaten raw.

Then again, you could say that cannabis is also a "natural" plant put here by God, or was it?? Is cannabis healthy if eaten in an unaltered state--meaning not smoking or burning it at all and eating it raw?

Then yet again, sugar cane is also a "natural" food put here on this earth by God (or was it??).

Therefore, I believe that it is the manner in which one consumes [cannabis] that counts, because I do believe that cannabis is used for medicinal purposes; it serves as a pain reliever in certain situations, such as when one has a disease, etc.

I do not know why sugar cane was put here on this earth though, unless satan put it here. There was a video on youtube by someone saying that satan invented evolution, not that this directly relates.

If something natural, such as salt or sugar cane, is toxic to the body, then why did God (supposedly) put it here??

[ginkgo]

Originally Posted by garentee

Tomatoes are non-sweet fruit like cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, pumpkin and squash.


Clearly you have never eaten a sun gold or any of the black tomatoes.. try them...Ok I will stop... sort of.

I was pointing out that this is why these fruits are called vegetables, because they are not as sweet as the other fruit. Tell me where I can buy a black tomato. I go to Whole Foods. My grandfather had a fruit and produce business but I have not seen one let alone eaten one.

[ginkgo]

Originally Posted by andrew112

Nope. Tomatoes are good, as long as they're eaten raw. Here are the nutrition facts for tomatoes: Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average [Includes USDA commodity food A238, A233]

As you can see, they do contain some glucose and fructose, but consider the fact that the tomato is a food that was put here by God, not man, and that it is in an unaltered state, as long as it's eaten raw.

Then again, you could say that cannabis is also a "natural" plant put here by God, or was it?? Is cannabis healthy if eaten in an unaltered state--meaning not smoking or burning it at all and eating it raw?

Then yet again, sugar cane is also a "natural" food put here on this earth by God (or was it??).

Therefore, I believe that it is the manner in which one consumes [cannabis] that counts, because I do believe that cannabis is used for medicinal purposes; it serves as a pain reliever in certain situations, such as when one has a disease, etc.

I do not know why sugar cane was put here on this earth though, unless satan put it here. There was a video on youtube by someone saying that satan invented evolution, not that this directly relates.

If something natural, such as salt or sugar cane, is toxic to the body, then why did God (supposedly) put it here??

Salt is not a food. It is not a plant or vegetable. If it is not plant or animal then it is mineral. It is rock and it is great at killing life so for thousands of years it was used to keep foods from going bad that is caused by bacteria growing. It is what makes the Dead Sea dead.

It is great for torture. See Mel Gibson's movie. It was rubbed into the cuts of Jesus to torture him so it is biblical like the cross or crucifix.

Sugar cane is very nutritious and a great source of chromium and calcium. But man takes out all the good stuff and leave in the stuff that has no nutrients. This is a man-made poison that robs your body of nutrients that were in it before man took it out. The good stuff that is taken out has health benefits. It is sold in health food stores as blackstrap molasses. Blackstrap molasses makes a good topping (seasoning) for sweet potatoes or yams and it will turn your grey hair back to its original color.

[garentee]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

I was pointing out that this is why these fruits are called vegetables, because they are not as sweet as the other fruit. Tell me where I can buy a black tomato. I go to Whole Foods. My grandfather had a fruit and produce business but I have not seen one let alone eaten one.

Go to the farmers market for the Black tomatoes...I would search high and low.. you probably will not find them at whole foods.. they do not travel well.. Best way to find a good farmer (and potentially some not so good ones) is on localharvest.org ... There are several different black tomatoes.. my customers go absolutely crazy for them.. getting all sorts of indignant when I do not have any....The other varieties that I like are Cherrokee Purple,Black Pear,Black From Tula etc... Krims though are the best!! (says me)

[mariajones]

Hi
Tomatoes are not bad for you. In fact they are very good for you. Tomatoes contain vitamins and minerals plus they are an excellent source of lycopene and beta carotene. Lycopene is a phytochemical carotenoid found in the red pigment of tomatoes, which may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Thank you...

[Airana]

I love tomatoes but have been unable to eat them for about 18 months now. They are bad news to fibromyalgia sufferers, also those with arthritis. If I eat a tomato the pain will have me in bed the next day, so I'll remain tomato free until they can create one that really is acid free!

[Herbivore]

Watermelon has twice the Lycopene of cooked tomatoes. They're just trying to sell tomato sause (and maybe keep people acidic). Sause gives me acid reflux. Raw tomatoes don't, and I eat mono-meals - about1.5 pounds at a time.

[Andrew Gubb]

Macrobiotic philosophy demonises the humble tomato along with all solanaceae including potatoes and peppers. EVIL

I don't buy it though

Highly acidic - If you buy into the acid/alkaline theory then you'd want to avoid them because they are very acidic.

I think actually tomatoes are supposed to be OK according to this theory - they are acid but their composition causes the body itself to become more alkaline.

Oh, and I remember a quote by Edgar Cayce, the great psychic who did health readings and gave advice for diet changes

Originally Posted by Edgar Cayce, aka the sleeping prophet, paraphrased

Tomatoes - excellent! They are full of vitamins

We all know they have vitamins, but if a good psychic says this it probably means that it doesn't have anything bad either, as psi picks up a holistic viewpoint and doesn't just focus on certain details. Remember scientific viewpoints which pick up only details and facts don't generally work out exactly how much weight to give each fact and how they end up affecting the overview of the subject in question.

I think he did say too that tomatoes are meant to be dangerous if you pick them green and have them ripen after. Ack - all supermarket tomatoes are like that. In Spain they even sell them green.

(I don't listen to everything Cayce says though. Even the best psychics make mistakes, and I'd rather make my mistakes than his. I eat tomatoes).

I remember when I last ate a vine ripened tomato though - that was an experience. They don't compare.

[Andrew Gubb]

Originally Posted by dor

seriously i agree with escapee.....i try to include sauce in my diet at least weekly...but as always listen to your body - some people get acid reflux from tomato sauce and obviously shouldn't eat it as much ...

Tomato sauce... you mean ketchup? Watch out, modified starch, glucose-fructose syrup and all that... not good. Heinz isn't interested in your health, it might be true that ketchup has lycopene but raw tomatoes have more with less crap added!

[KtotheB]

I eat tons of tomatoes..... apparently it's better to eat them with oils.

[Dimond]

Tomatoes, especially organic, are good for you. Only when trying to heal an illness like cancer, should you cut out certain foods and this is often one of them. If you blend them, you'll get the full benefits without cooking. Though eating them whole is usually enough.

[jasonwisdom]

I think tomatoes are bad for you if you see them thrown at you while doing a stand-up comedy routine...

[James Reno]

I think tomatoes are good for you. Of course all things in moderation.

They are in the Phase 1 (smallest category of allowable foods) in Dr. Gabriel Cousens Food Phases Chart which he recommends to cure diabetes.

For example for diabetics they are better than fruit, carrots, goji berries etc. which should not be consumed until the diabetic person is cured.

[Airana]

To those in good health, tomatoes are fine. However, anybody suffering from arthritis or fibromyalgia is best to stay away from them. The pain is just not worth it.