Nutritional Ingredients in Specific Foods. Lycopene in Tomatoes.

Today we are going to take things in a little different route. I have wanted to talk about this one subject, but thought that maybe I should go a lot easier on the subject in that I only do a quick overview. So lets talk about a few fun items.

One fun thing is Tomatoes. I know there are some people out there with credentials that claim that Tomatoes are horrible. They cause all kinds of inflammation and all kinds of stomach issues that aren't good. Then all you have to do is turn around and an equal number of people will claim the opposite. It is enough to drive you insane. Which for some of us, from all appearances it is obvious that something like that may have just happened. LOL> But lets look at the the facts. Nothing personal or emotional here, just the facts. So what is so magical about a simple Tomato? For starters one particular nutrient; Lycopene. This is the element that accounts for the red or orange color. What if you over do it on Tomatoes? About the only real toxicity from the Tomato or specifically the Lycopene is that you will get a reddish or a pronounced orange complexion to your skin color.. As the toxicity dies down, then your skin color will return to normal. Remember back to 2020.. certain man that was visible in national politics? They called him "Orange Man"... yeah, him, that orange complexion is the typical result. Now I have no way of knowing if he ate a lot of Tomatoes or even Carrots, which will do about the same thing to skin color, or not. But that is basically what happens to the skin when you over dose on Tomatoes.

But on the other end, of having a deficiency of Lycopene, you can end up with all sorts of issues. Among the major types of issues are Pancreatic Enzyme Deficiency. Gallbladder Disease, Liver disease, OH hey wait, did you say that Pancreatic Enzyme thing? Yeah, I did, and what is strongly associated with that? Yeah, snicker snicker, Type 2 Diabetes. Then we see that Gallbladder disease thing.. a lot of people have their Gallbladder removed. Also remember that horses do not have a Gall Bladder.. Have you seen a horse eat tomatoes? They might sample some vegetables, but not maters. They like fruit, which isn't too hard on them since they don't have that Gallbladder thing to process fats and related stuff. The Liver disease... yes, we have that handled with some essential oil blends, but tomatoes will also solve that issue.

Now we continue down the list of associated Lycopene deficiencies. Chrone's Disease and Celiac Disease. Oh come on, even more... typically mis-diagnosed issues? Yeah! Don't we hear of that stuff being talked about in the same circles as being Gluten Sensitivity? Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. Well Lycopene plays a major part in these issues, as when you don't have Lycopene in your diet and especially if you aren't getting it from Tomatoes. Lets not forget Cystic Fibrosis. Yes, that one is in there too with a lack of Lycopene being a contributing factor. A huge deal is the Heart Health issue of Tomatoes. Major contributor of helping with a healthy Heart. Lastly Lycopene is a very strong antioxidant When you have a lack of antioxidants you stand a huge chance of being susceptible to Free Radical Damage. Which we understand can contribute to certain or most types of Cancers. Some of the other indications for Tomatoes is for people with Body and Organ Cancers. Eye disorders such as Cataracts and Age Related Macular Degeneration, just to name a few off the top of my head. Are you getting a picture of what a Tomato can do for you? Now what was that about the down side of no Lycopene from Tomatoes? In my view it is clear, especially when you consider those down side issues are always related to a more serious set of deficiencies and can be solved fairly easy, if the proper solutions are applied. Then when you eat a tomato, there is no real down side to the deal and only upside benefits.

So how do we go about getting a high quality Tomato? For starters, grow your own. They are one of the easiest plants to grow and when grown somewhat properly, can yield a huge amount of food per plant. They grow great in containers as well. Second is to find someone that can grow some for you. Lastly, hey, if you have to get them at the store, they may not be the best, but those are certainly leaps and bounds better than not having any Tomatoes. One big Gee Whizz about Tomatoes is that they are one of the few foods that actually get better when you cook them. Yeah, really they increase in available nutrient when cooked. I don't know how well they work with women, but us old men will benefit immensely by eating cooked Tomatoes. I can line you up for as far as you can see, even if you have been eating tomatoes, remember the eye disorder thing mentioned previously, of men that will testify that they pay the price of pain and inflammation the next day, if they don't eat a few slices of tomatoes each day, and they will usually feel much better if they were lightly cooked. Want to know the secret food that is most desired by Cowboys when out moving cows and spending the night on the ground? Canned Stewed Tomatoes. They are more preferred if heated up than eaten cold, but I don't know of a Cowboy that would turn down a can of Stewed Tomatoes, or any type of Tomato when out on the trail, hot or cold. Having grown up for the first almost 20 years of my life in a saddle, on a horse, moving beef cows around, I can attest to the before mentioned observations. BTW, the second most desired food on the Cowboy trail? Canned Peaches. Of course everyone knows that a meal isn't a meal without Catsup. Catsup is a very nutritious food, especially if the ingredient list of the Catsup is short. Shorter the better and more nutritious. The same ideas with Tomatoes also applies to the Sheep Herd, well, the Sheep Herders. The sheep don't eat maters either, even though they have a Gallbladder. However, when around sheep it is a toss up as to what is better, a dutch oven full of Mutton or a can of Stewed Tomatoes. As you can tell, I miss my life before I become an adult. LOL> As a side note, I almost forgot, What is he preferred meat on a cow herding trail? Fresh Poached Deer Meat. Chew on that one for a while. Those of you from the poorer side of the tracks will know just what Fresh Poached Deer Meat is. LOL>

Well, as I can see this is getting much longer than I had intended. So we will end it here with just only really one topic discussed. So in the future I will likely end up covering one subject in these discussions due to length. I hope this fun and light discussion will be of some use to you. When someone tells you that a Tomato is bad for you, just smile and pat them on the head as you say, Oh, you are so cute! LOL>

Also, as a side benefit, we see, based on current studies, of the Tomato helping to regulate the state of Lactic Acidosis in people that are somewhat "less than well". What this means is that Tomatoes will help regulate and play a part in the balancing of Lactic Acid with in the human body. This plays a part in the whole Type 2 Diabetes thing and more importantly, since a lot of people as they age, will feel like their joints are not as free to move without pain as they once were,  find that after eating a Tomato will find their joints hurt less and experience more freedom of movement with less pain.  Bottom line is that if you have Type 2 and are experiencing a great deal of pain, eating a Tomato should and generally will help that individual.  So don't reach for a hand full of aspirin when experiencing pain, just eat a Tomato.  If you are dealing with Type 2, a Tomato will go a long way in helping balance out the Carbs. 

Until next time, when we will likely discuss the Potato, since it is too from the forbidden Night Shade Family of plants. I did a major research paper on the Potato when I was in college. I wish I could find it, but I have no idea where it might be. It was very extensive and packed with information. Hopefully, I can recall most of the information. Anyway, have a good day.

End of Discussion.KK.