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Did you know your favourite comfort food is also good for you (in seven ways!)? We’re talking everything about tomato soup inside this nutritiously delicious article.
It’s one of everyone’s favourite comfort foods, but is tomato soup healthy, too?
Served alongside a grilled cheese, cooked with noodles, or by itself, tomato soup is a delicious savoury meal. It may not taste healthy, yet, the core ingredient is a tomato!
Like ketchup, does that make it a nutritious substitute for your vegetable side?
Tomatoes are actually a fruit, scientifically speaking. It’s a “chicken or egg” argument for a lot of people. They grow on vines and have seeds, putting them squarely in the fruit family for botanists.
Nutritionists, on the other hand, place tomatoes in the “vegetable” category. Fruits refer to sweet, fleshy, high-fructose plants. Vegetables are everything else. Fruits tend to appear as desserts; vegetables are part of the main course.
Would you put a tomato in your fruit salad?
Probably not.
Since tomatoes are related to eggplants and peppers, they tend to get called vegetables more often than not. And these vegetables, cooked in tomato soup, have a lot of surprising health advantages!
The next time you load up on your comfort food of tomato soup, you’ll be indulging in these seven nutritional benefits!
1. They’re Rich In Antioxidants
One of the latest buzzwords in health and nutrition is “antioxidants.” More people around the world today focus on trying to stay healthy and look young. This trend has made antioxidants the best-selling ingredient in nutrition and beauty products.
These invisible molecules pack quite a punch when it comes to benefits for your body. The most important thing they do is neutralize free radicals found in the environment. Free radicals are atoms that act “radically” or unstably. If you have too many of them in your body, they can cause significant damage.
Free radicals link to illnesses like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. They also may speed up the signs of aging, causing fine lines and wrinkles and dry, yellowing skin.
But antioxidants help to get rid of free radicals before they can do their damage. Your body has a natural antioxidant defense system. You can boost this by eating foods, like tomatoes, that are high in vitamins E and C that have a lot of antioxidants.
2. They’re Good for Your Bones
You’ve probably heard about the importance of megavitamins like B, C, and D.
There are other lesser-known, but also necessary, vitamins and nutrients your body needs. Vitamin K is one of them, and you can find it in tomato soup.
This vitamin is especially essential in babies and as we get older. It helps the blood clot so that when you get a cut or injury, you don’t bleed excessively.
Like Vitamin B, Vitamin K is a group of compounds. K1 and K2 are the main ones your body needs. You can get K1 from leafy greens and vegetables and K2 from meats, eggs, and cheese.
Vitamin K deficiency has links to osteoporosis and other bone loss. It’s not a common dietary supplement. If you have concerns about your bone health, adding it to your day, along with some tomato soup, is a good idea.
Another benefit of tomato soup that helps your bones is that tomatoes are full of calcium. This mineral, found in many common foods, is essential to your body’s bone and teeth health.
Almost all your calcium stores in your bones and your teeth. As your body becomes calcium-deficient, you begin to lose the hardness and structure of those parts. Loading up on tomato soup helps you keep up your calcium levels!
3. They Help Your Heart
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. There are so many ways to damage this critical organ, but we can do a lot of things to reduce our risk of cardiovascular problems.
For instance, eating tomato soup at least once a week can improve your heart’s health.
Tomatoes have various nutrients that link to better cardiovascular wellness, such as:
- Lycopene
- Folate
- Potassium
- Antioxidant-laden vitamins (like A, B, C, and E)
Why tomato soup and not tomatoes?
There’s a science-based reason.
When you process tomatoes with healthy oils in tomato soup, paste, or sauce, your body absorbs the nutrients easier. If you want the benefits of tomato without losing out on any of the nutritional value, tomato soup is a delicious way to do the job!
4. They Could Fight Aging
Tomatoes are a superfood in the anti-aging department, partly because of their high levels of lycopene.
Lycopene is one of the most potent antioxidants in the carotenoid family. That means it protects against UV ray damage and the effects of dangerous bacteria.
While lycopene protects you from external damage, it also works inside your skin to make it stronger. This nutrient inhibits the activity of the enzymes that break down your collagen. Collagen is necessary to keep your skin firm and elastic and avoid wrinkles.
5. They Can Benefit Your Vision
Tomatoes have nutrients in them that are scientifically proven to help protect your eyes from the damage caused by light. This damage is what causes vision conditions like cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
Lycopene is one of the nutrients that help keep your eyes from deteriorating. Tomatoes also have lutein and beta-carotene in them, both of which are antioxidants that protect your eyes from light damage.
Mixing your tomatoes with a soup or paste improves your body’s absorption of these nutrients. Carrots are the food usually associated with eyesight health. This is true, but they don’t taste as good as tomato soup!
6. They Improve Your Blood Circulation
There isn’t much in your body more important than getting oxygen to every part through your blood’s circulation. As we get older, our circulation can slow. As your body feels the effects of missing oxygen-rich blood, you notice it in signs like a lagging memory or limbs that easily “fall asleep” and tingle.
Tomatoes have a mineral in them called selenium. Although most of us have never heard of this nutrient, it is a big one in terms of health benefits.
Selenium works as an antioxidant, helping to fight free radicals and reduce your risk of chronic diseases like cancer. It also boosts the blood flow in your body. When your mind and organs get the fresh oxygen they need, they stay in good shape longer.
You can only get selenium through your diet, so adding tomato soup to your meal plan is a smart solution!
7. They Boost Your Mood
The rate of mental disorders has increased significantly since the pandemic of 2020. It was already a major problem before COVID-19, but isolation and fear made disorders like anxiety and depression spike.
Part of the problem was legitimately loneliness. But another part was the decrease in healthy diets of people who couldn’t access nutritious foods.Studies have shown that mood disorders are more prevalent when lifestyle factors like unhealthy diets and lack of sleep exist.
Healthy foods, like tomatoes, have essential minerals that help boost your brain’s mental state. Zinc, copper, and manganese are a few of these nutrients.
That’s another good reason tomato soup counts as comfort food. If you’re feeling foggy or down, the minerals in it can cheer you up!
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a yummy and easy-to-make meal, tomato soup is the nutritious choice. You get the benefits of tomatoes, absorbed into your body better, combined with delicious comfort food!
[Author bio]
Dominique Daniels has five years of Property Management experience working primarily in high-end apartment community living. Her ability to consistently deliver white-glove services to her residents and prospects has propelled her in a successful career that now finds her leading the Tobin Estate Apartments team.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions, and data contained in these publications are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of Credihealth and the editor(s).
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