The tomato seems to have originated on the western coast of South America, in present day Peru, where eight species in the tomato genus still grow wild in the Andes Mountains. It seems to have been domesticated in Central America.
This was around the time the Spanish explorer Cortez conquered the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, later to be renamed Mexico City, in 1521. It is presumed that the tomato found its’ way across the Atlantic shortly after.
Lycopene, one of nature's most powerful antioxidants, is found almost exclusively in tomatoes. Following is a summary of the promising lycopene research conducted during the past few years.
Information about Tomatoes:
- Tomatoes are lipophilic, which means their nutritional value is increased by being cooked in some fat.
Cooked tomatoes may be more beneficial to your health than raw tomatoes.
- Tomatoes are rich in vitamins (A, C Calcium) and fiber.
- Tomatoes are rich the antioxidant Lycopene.
There may also be an association between heart health and tomatoes. In a study conducted by University of North Carolina scientists, the fat samples drawn from both heart attack sufferers and healthy controls were analyzed for lycopene and other carotenoids.
They found significantly more lycopene in the fat of the controls than the heart patients. Not surprisingly, the diet of the control group was also higher in tomato products.
Material taken in part from the Florida Tomato Committee website at www.floridatomatoes.org/education.html
Also about 500 years ago people with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead (in the pewter) to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning and death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
All You Ever Wanted to Know About Tomatoes, Vegetables and Nutrition.