Tomatoes may be best known for being confused as a vegetable, but they’re among the healthiest produce you can buy! Among fruit, they’re some of the most versatile and most eaten ingredients in the world. Since you probably consume them weekly in a soup or salad anyway, it would help to know what they’re doing for you.

After reading these 3 ways tomatoes can actually extend your life, you’ll be adding tomatoes to your regular diet on purpose. The only downside is that the best way to eat them also takes more time out of your already busy schedule.

How to Eat Tomatoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I get into the nutrition content, it helps to know how to eat tomatoes to get the maximum benefits from them. Preparation can have a huge impact on the nutrient content of your produce. It has a particularly significant impact on tomatoes because of compounds called lectins.

Even though lectins aren’t exactly nutritious, don’t worry! They’re far from being “bad” for you. They’re just not the best part about eating tomatoes.

So, what should you do?

By cooking tomatoes in soups or sauces, you can reduce their lectin content and free up vital nutrients and phytochemicals for your body to use them. In addition, cooking them with olive oil or other sources of healthy fats can help your body absorb the beneficial nutrients already in the tomatoes.

Usually, cooking produce takes its nutrients away. Tomatoes are one example where you actually want to limit how much of it you eat raw, such as in a salad. However, no matter how you slice them, tomatoes come with a host of health benefits.

 

1. A Source of Lycopene

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the life-extending benefits you get from tomatoes. Lycopene is a phytochemical in tomatoes that comes with a host of health benefits that will help you live longer.

A healthy source of lycopene has been shown to help you maintain bone health, reduce your risk of stroke, treat lung cancer, and improve your gut health. Your probiotics will be more effective in the presence of lycopene as well, which improves your immune system.

Lycopene is even a powerful antioxidant, which improves your inflammation response and lowers your risk for chronic ailments across the board.

 

2. Tomatoes Improve your Breathing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Improved lung function is not a common side effect of eating produce. But tomatoes share with apples an ability to help smokers maintain or recover their healthy lung function.

Even people who have never smoked can reduce the natural effects of aging in their lungs with a healthy dose of tomatoes. If you need to breathe easier, tomatoes could be a great supplement.

 

3. Cardiovascular Health

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last life-extending benefit of eating tomatoes involves inflammation, which we now know is the source of most chronic diseases. By reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, tomatoes reduce your risk for blood clots as well as lower your blood pressure.

The lycopene I mentioned has a direct impact on cardiovascular health this way. Studies have shown that lacking lycopene is associated with high LDL cholesterol levels (the “bad” cholesterol) and lower overall cardiovascular health.

Reducing inflammation has been shown to improve our lifespans. Tomatoes (cooked) are a great complement to any anti-inflammatory diet.

 

The Takeaway

Most of us know tomatoes as a topping for salads, but that’s not actually the best way to eat them! When they’re still raw they contain lectins, which aren’t great for you. By cooking them into a soup or sauce, tomatoes ascend to their full healthy potential. The 3 benefits listed above are so important, they can even increase your lifespan.

Lycopene helps reduce your risk for stroke and cancer, improve your cardiovascular health, and even improve your breathing. Tomatoes are a great way to get it. Like me, you’re probably busy and would love to get them completely through salads, but the extra time you spend incorporating tomatoes into your cooking will do wonders for the benefits you get from them.