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The secret of eternal youth
While tomato has long been credited with cutting cholesterol and preventing some cancers, the fruit now appears to have two more health-giving benefits.
Protection against sunburn and helping keep the skin looking youthful are the latest fingdings, a study has found. To test the fruit's ability to protect the skin, ten volunteers were asked to eat five tablespoons of tomato paste mixed with olive oil every day for three months. Another ten had a daily dose of olive oil—minus the tomato paste. Tests showed the tomato-eaters were a third better protected against sunburn at the end of the study than at the start. Other tests suggested the tomato-based diet had boosted production of collagen, the protein that keeps skin soft.
If that were not enough, the fruit also protects our mitochondria—the elements of cells which turn the food we eat into energy. A researcher said: "Being kind to our mitochondria is likely to contribute to improved skin health, which in turn may have an anti-ageing effect."
Tomoto’s benefits are credited to lycopene, a powerful antioxidant capable of eliminate free radicals—the harmful molecules linked to cancer—is made easier for the body to absorb when tomatoes are cooked or processed.
The researchers stressed, however, that their findings were not an excuse to throw away the suncream. People should not think tomatoes in any way can replace suncreams, but they may be a good additive.
Scientists recommend two tomato-based meals a day for optimum health.
