Is It A Fruit Or A Vegetable?

Posted: January 7th, 2010 | Author: Dr. Bill | No Comments »

Now you might think I’m talking about the (Honorable) Barney Frank, a congressional representative and scourge from our liberal neighbors from Taxachusetts, about 4 hours north and 180 degrees left of where I reside presently. I’ve taken the pint-sized cockatiel crook to task before, so I’m not going to waste a column on him today, much as I would like to. Except to say that if his lips are moving, he’s telling a lie, and probably a real big one.

The fruit or vegetable debate comes from a trip to the grocery store, where I spotted cases of beefsteak tomatoes, one of my favorite foods.

My love of beefsteak tomatoes started when I was a kid. My mother introduced me to what we kids called a “Mato Sammich” which consisted of white bread, mayonnaise, and big slices of beefsteak tomato. We could polish off plates of these in no time flat, and when times were good, we could have a BLT, which in those days was living it up. Either way, I still love those tomatoes.

Today, I try and find a better bread than Wonder to go with the sandwich, but if I was pressed I would revert quickly to the old way.

The reason I’m writing about tomatoes is that they are a superfood, just like some of the others I’ve written about before (like pumpkin, spinach, walnuts, etc.).

Tomatoes contain: Lycopene, Vitamin C, alpha and beta carotene, Lutein, Potassium, B Vitamins, Chromium, Biotin, and Fiber.

Lycopene is the most important nutrient found in tomatoes, and it’s found in very few foods (like watermelon, pink grapefruit, red papaya, and persimmons).

Most Americans get their lycopene from three sources: ketchup, tomato juice, and pizza sauce.

One of the very important qualities of lycopene is that it is a very important part of the body’s defenses against skin cancer. By eating tomatoes in the cooked state, you help create a natural sun protection factor (SPF).

Lycopene also helps to prevent many cancers, including lung, stomach, and prostate. In addition, it’s a powerful risk reducer for cardiovascular disease.

Now…although I told you that I love tomato sandwiches, you get the highest benefit from cooked tomatoes. Cooking the tomato gives you eight times the benefit of raw tomatoes, and with the popularity of pasta, you shouldn’t have a problem getting the lycopene you need. If you don’t want pasta sauce, you can broil, or roast the tomatoes, to get the same benefit. And pizza sauce actually counts. Another way, gaining in popularity, is salsa.

The way to maximize the benefit of the tomatoes is to add a little olive oil. Studies have shown that this accelerates the dispersion of the nutrients. And to my thinking, it adds another flavor, too.

When you combine all these superfoods with my Powerhouse Omega Formula, you get a great synergistic effect for your health. Of course, you have to ease up on the crapola I’ve been talking about, too (like high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, et al), not to mention regular sugar, of which we all consume way too much. Remember, less than a century ago, our grandparents consumed only 3 to 4 pounds of sugar a year. Now, we each consume 160 pounds a year!

Is it any wonder the waiting rooms at doctors’ offices all over the country are full?

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