Tomato.

Tomato: a healthy vegetable and its uses

Tomato (lat. Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most widespread crops in the world. This is a perennial herbaceous plant of the nightshade family, up to 3 meters high. The entire plant is covered with glandular pubescence and has a characteristic strong odor. It blooms in May-June with yellow regular five-membered flowers. The fruit is a multilocular, fleshy, juicy, multi-seeded berry, red, yellow or almost white in color.

Tomato is an important crop grown throughout the world. In the USSR it was cultivated everywhere, most widely in the Volga region, the North Caucasus, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. It is usually cultivated using seedlings. Seedlings are grown in greenhouses or greenhouses for 40-65 days. Seeds are collected only from ripe, developed, healthy fruits.

Today, not a single national cuisine can do without this vegetable. Tomato can be consumed fresh, salted, pickled, or pickled. It contains many nutrients, including proteins, amino acids, enzymes, sugars, fiber, organic acids, vegetable fat, potassium salts, copper, zinc, magnesium, iron, carotene and vitamins - C, B1, B2, B6, K, PP, pantothenic and folic acids. Tomatoes are widely used in medical nutrition as an additional source of replenishing the body with vitamins and mineral salts.

Due to the presence of a large amount of organic acids, tomatoes are able to stimulate appetite, activate digestive processes, and suppress the effect of pathogenic intestinal microflora. They are low in purines, which makes them an important dietary product for the prevention of atherosclerosis. Thanks to vitamin C and carotene, tomatoes are rightfully considered a strong antiscorbutic agent.

The salts contained in tomato normalize the acid-base balance in the body and thereby reduce blood pressure. Using tomatoes as food stimulates the liver and can be useful for inflammation and cirrhosis. However, it must be remembered that a large amount of organic acids causes spasm of the gallbladder muscles, which is contraindicated in case of cholelithiasis.

Locally, tomatoes are also widely used in cosmetology due to their antioxidant properties. They help protect the skin from free radicals, which can cause premature aging and skin damage. Tomatoes can also improve your complexion and skin texture.

In addition, tomatoes are used in cooking to create various dishes: salads, sauces, soups, side dishes, etc. They are also one of the main ingredients for the production of ketchup and tomato juice.

Thus, tomatoes are a healthy and versatile vegetable that can be used in both the food, cosmetic and medical industries. They contain many nutrients that can have a positive effect on human health.