101 Foods That Could Save Your Life

Did you know … in Buñol, Valencia, Spain, there’s an annual tradition of pelting thy fellow neighbour with tomatoes, called “La Tomatina”?

Tomatoes come from the Solanaceae family, which also includes peppers, potatoes and aubergine. There are over a thousand varieties of tomatoes that differ in size, shape and colour ranging from red, yellow and orange to green and brown.

Tomatoes are thought to be native to South America, but they were first cultivated in Mexico. It was Spanish explorers who brought tomato seeds back to Europe. The tomato was introduced to Italy in the sixteenth century but Italians were fearful of eating them because tomatoes belonged to the nightshade family and were believed to be poisonous. The colonists who settled in Virginia brought the tomatoes with them but it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that the tomato gained popularity.

The main producers of tomatoes are the United States, Italy, Russia, Spain, Turkey and China.

Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C and potassium. They are a good source of plant chemicals such as phytosterols, beta-carotene and lycopene, a potent antioxidant that becomes more abundant when tomatoes are cooked. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that lycopene reduces the risk of prostate cancer and also has cardioprotective, antimutagenic, anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory properties. Tomatoes also contain polyphenols which have been shown effective in halting growth against liver and prostate cancer in cell line studies.

Drinking tomato juice, and taking a bath in it, have been advocated for eczema and other skin disorders. Some find gargling tomato juice three to four times a day provides relief from mouth ulcers. A concoction of two teaspoons of tomato juice and 2floz/60ml buttermilk, applied to burned areas and left on for about a half hour and then rinsed, has provided relief.

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: To date, the majority of research suggests that tomato products may be more cardioprotective than lycopene alone. An animal study in which subjects were given either tomato juice or a lycopene supplement, and then had heart damage introduced, found that both reduced lipid peroxidation; however, only tomato juice reduced heart cell death and damage to the heart and improved heart function. An in vitro study using tomato extract found that tomatoes contain compounds that reduced platelet aggregation (blood stickiness).

CANCER: A UC Davis study found that tomato products had a synergistic effect between lycopene and other naturally occurring nutrients in tomatoes that produced better results than lycopene supplementation alone in lowering biomarkers of oxidative stress and carcinogenesis.

COLORECTAL CANCER: A case-control study involving 1,953 cases found that tomato intake had a significant protective effect against colorectal cancer.

OVARIAN CANCER: A prospective study of seventy-one women diagnosed with ovarian cancer showed a significantly reduced risk of ovarian cancer with higher tomato consumption.

PROSTATE CANCER: Subjects who consumed tomato sauce daily for three weeks before their prostatectomy had a significant decrease in DNA damage in prostate tissues and an increase in prostate cancer cell death. A case-control study found a significant inverse association between higher plasma lycopene derived from plant sources such as tomatoes and lower risk of prostate cancer.

• Choose red, plump, heavy tomatoes with smooth skin.

• They should have a mild fragrance (no fragrance means that the tomato was picked before it was ripe and will never ripen).

• Place them in a paper bag stem side up with a banana or apple to speed up ripening.

• Store at room temperature.

• Fully ripe tomatoes will last for a day or two.

• Do not cook tomatoes with aluminium cookware because their acid will interact with the metal and may cause the aluminium to leech into the food.

• Add sliced tomatoes to your sandwiches and salads.

• Make salsa, soups or add tomato juice to rice to make Spanish rice.

Noni’s Marinara Sauce

by Arthur Grotto

Servings: 8 4oz/110g servings • Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: At least 1 hour. Longer for a thicker sauce.

My dad says you have to let a pasta sauce cook for at least an hour so the sauce clings to the pasta. This recipe contains seven powerhouse foods.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons parsley, rinsed and dried well, chopped fine

2 tablespoons celery leaves, rinsed and dried well, chopped fine

2 tablespoons yellow onion, rinsed and dried well, chopped fine

1 large clove garlic, quartered

1 teaspoon tomato paste

42oz/1.175g Italian-style whole tinned tomatoes

1lb/450g tomato sauce

4floz/125ml dry white wine

½ teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of cayenne or black pepper

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Pour whole tomatoes in a colander. Squeeze juice from tomatoes by hand until somewhat dry. Do not discard juice. Chop tomatoes to coarse texture, or finer if you desire. Once tomatoes are chopped, add back into reserved juice. Heat large and deep frying pan for 1½ minutes. Add olive oil to pan. Immediately after, add onions, garlic, parsley and celery leaves, and sauté until onions are transparent, stirring occasionally. Add wine, stir, and cook until wine is reduced. Add pinch of cayenne pepper and raise heat to medium. Add in tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, and tomato paste; raise heat to high and bring to near boil. Reduce heat and simmer until garlic is soft, approximately fifty minutes to an hour—test periodically by pressing garlic pieces against side of pan. When garlic is soft, remove and chop fine. Add back into sauce. Continue to simmer for another fifteen minutes. Taste sauce as it is cooking—add salt, if needed. Stir in baking soda at the end of cooking, until dissolved, to reduce the acidity of the sauce. Serve.

BREAK IT DOWN …

Calories: 78; Total fat: 4g; Saturated fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 498mg; Total carbs: 7g; Fibre: 1g; Sugar: 4g; Protein: 2g.