Tomatoes not only convince with their intense taste, but also with their high nutritional value! The red fruits are real vitamin bombs and on top of that they provide a lot of minerals. This article provides an overview of the most important ingredients as well as interesting facts about the nutritional value!
Nutritional values
Tomatoes are not only extremely tasty, but also very healthy. Because they consist of over 90 percent water and contain only a few calories. The fructose contained in it provides a pleasant sweetness in many types of tomatoes, but hardly hits the scales. For this reason, the red fruits are a healthy snack in between and can also be eaten without hesitation during a diet.
Nutritional values per 100 grams
- Calories: approx. 13 - 19
- Fat: approx. 0.2-0.7 g
- Protein: approx. 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: approx. 1.9-4.0 g
Vitamins
The red fruits are rightly considered a real vitamin bomb, because they contain a variety of different vitamins. Above all, vitamin C should be mentioned, the content of which is around 25 milligrams per 100 grams of tomatoes. A medium-sized tomato can therefore provide around 30 percent of the recommended daily dose of vitamin C. It should be noted, however, that most of the vitamin C is in the shell. Because the tomato peel contains around three times as much vitamin C as the pulp. In addition, the tomato provides the following vitamins:
- Vitamin B1, B2, B6 and E1
- Niacin (B3)
- Pantothenic acid (B5)
Minerals
Tomatoes not only provide valuable vitamins, but also a variety of minerals. In particular, the potassium content is worth mentioning at around 297 milligrams per 100 grams. This is an essential mineral that is involved, among other things, in protein production, the utilization of carbohydrates, the conduction of nerves and muscle contraction. In addition to potassium, tomatoes also contain the following minerals:
Minerals per 100 grams
- Iron: approx. 0.5 mg
- Calcium: approx. 10 mg
- Sodium: approx. 250 mg
- Magnesium: approx. 14 mg
- Phosphorus: approx. 22 mg
Already knew: After the flu, many people suffer from a potassium deficiency, which can be compensated by regular tomato consumption.
Lycopene
Most tomato varieties have a typical red color, which can be traced back to the substance "lycopene". Lycopene is not only responsible for the red color, because the phytochemicals are also said to have numerous health effects. So should
Among other things, lycopene can inhibit the growth of cancer cells and lower systolic blood pressure. Lycopene is found in raw fruits in an amount of around 9.3 milligrams per 100 grams. In processed products, the lycopene content is even higher, because the substance is released particularly well in high heat.Lycopene per 100 grams
- Tomato juice: approx. 10.8 mg
- Tomato puree: approx. 16.7 mg
- Ketchup: approx. 17.2 mg
- Tomato sauce: approx. 18.8 mg
- Tomato paste: approx. 55.5 mg
Histamine and solanine
Tomato fruits not only contain numerous health-promoting substances, but also two that should always be consumed with caution. On the one hand, this includes histamine, which is contained in around one kilogram of tomatoes in an amount of around 20 milligrams. The amount is relatively small, but people with a histamine intolerance react to even the smallest amounts of histamine, which is why they should rather not eat the red fruits. Green, immature specimens should generally not be consumed because they contain a particularly large amount of solanine, which can be toxic. However, the solanine content decreases enormously with increasing ripeness, so that there is basically no danger with ripe fruits.
