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- Eat Tomatoes for your Heart and Health
Did you know that eating tomatoes or tomato products a few times a week can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease? If not, let me tell you how:
Tomatoes have an arsenal of heart nutrients. It contains vitamins C and E, fiber, and potassium, as well as antioxidant lycopene that gives the tomato the red color. Together these nutrients work together to protect the heart by fighting off oxidation and inflammation which can damage the heart.
Tomatoes protect against oxidation stress in people with high levels of lycopene in their bloodstream, which gives them a lower rate of cardiovascular disease. This may be due to antioxidant nutrients that fights the effects of oxidation.
Tomatoes can also improve your cholesterol. Tomatoes increase “good” HDL cholesterol levels and reduces “bad” LDL cholesterol levels. Sometimes we add olive oil to our tomato salad and with the lycopene in the tomatoes it can improve cholesterol levels further.
Tomatoes are also healthy for our blood pressure.They keep our blood pressure under control which reduce the risk of heart disease. Tomatoes are rich in potassium which counter the effect of sodium to help keep our blood pressure levels in healthy range, therefore, keeping our levels in normal range.
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture