Yesterday in Mumbai, it was day one of reopening of workplaces and one thing became very clear that without local trains Mumbai can not function. Even with 10% of private office attendance the BEST buses could not cope with the crowd and social distancing norms went for toss. The traffic jams on some of the arterial roads were like what used to be there in pre Covid days, the reason being with local trains still not in operations, people have no choice to bring their own vehicles out on the on the roads. In the normal days, BEST buses caters to about 35 lakhs commuters and local trains ferry about 75 lakhs commuters. Yesterday BEST buses catered to only 10% of office goers who used both trains and buses and conditions everywhere were chaotic.
Yesterday Mumbai crossed the figures of 50,000 Covid 19 cases.
In my health related topic, today I am writing about a thing which is technically a fruit but most of the people all around the world use it as vegetable. Yes I am talking about TOMATO.
Tomatoes are commonly available throughout India, and are also included in most of the Indian cuisines. It is also used in salads in most households, and even soups, juices, jams and ketchup are made out of tomato. You may not aware that tomatoes are highly beneficial for the health.
Highly Nutritional– It is well known fact that our body needs certain amount of nutrients to keep it healthy. While certain vegetables and fruits provide us with part of these, tomatoes contain whole lot of nutrients. By eating tomatoes our body gets the required doses of Vitamins A, K, B1, B3, B5, B6, B7 and C. Additionally it provides us iron, folate, magnesium, potassium, chromium, calcium, zinc and phosphorus.
Heart Health– Cardiovascular issues are real threat to the aging population, and including tomatoes in the diet may one of the way of stalling it. Studies have proved that lycopene present in the tomatoes can bring down the risk of cardiovascular diseases by 30%. Research has also revealed that tomatoes in a cooked or mashed form will release more lycopene than raw.
Kidney and Gall Stone Prevention– Tomatoes help to improve overall digestive functioning our body through better liver health. It prevents constipation, which is another issue for seniors. Long term consumption of tomatoes can keep kidney and gall stones at bay and also prevent mild issues like diarrhea. Seniors should include tomatoes as it happens to be its pivotal role in preventing Urinary tract Infections (UTI).
Eye Health– Tomatoes contain beta carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, all of which are phytonutrients that can protect as well as improve the vision.
Skin and Bone Health– The other degenerating parts of our body that tomatoes can benefit are hair, skin and bone. Obviously calcium in tomatoes help with bone health, while Vitamin K helps with hair growth, luster and revitalisation. Components in tomatoes prevent damage to skin cells and help in improving its appearance.
Anti Cancer– The lycopene in tomatoes that help with heart health can also prevent cancers of lung, gut and prostate. Besides the high amount of antioxidants can help prevent the formation of free radicals or fight their functioning to ensure body cells are not damaged.
Multiple Ways to Consume– Being fruit/vegetable, tomato is something can be consumed easily in many ways. You could just cut them for salad at lunch or dinner, or quickly blend them into cup of juice. The juice can be pepped up with pinch of pepper and a bit of lemon juice, or even mint leaves can be added for better taste. One good thing is tomatoes can be cooked easily in minutes, and you could also make a soup out of it. Apart from this, many curries that Indians have tomatoes blended into it as the main ingredient. Even tomato rice is a favourite dish of many who otherwise may not prefer to eat a tomato. Some household make jams, pickle and sauces etc from tomatoes. It does not matter which way you consume it, but scientific evidence suggests that it is good to include tomatoes in the diet, for maintaining overall health.
Friends to be very frank, I was not aware about the so many benefits of eating tomatoes.
Today I am writing my 100th blog for the year 2020, and overall it is my 663rd blog.
Waiting for your views/feed backs/comments.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
9th Jun 2020