Tomatoes are rich in vitamins A, C, B1, B2, carotene, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, and iodine. They also contain protein, sugars, organic acids, and cellulose.
In recent years, nutrition experts have discovered that tomatoes also have new health benefits and medicinal values for preventing and treating various diseases. Medical scientists believe that tomato food can improve children’s immunity and reduce children’s mortality due to diarrhea.
An investigation by researchers at the University School of Medicine found that after two consecutive weeks of ingestion of tomato juice, the body's lycopene will increase significantly and the immune function of T lymphocytes will also be enhanced.
In another experiment, researchers found that children who were positive for human immunodeficiency virus had significantly lower blood levels of lycopene than normal children. Researchers say that among malnourished children in West African countries, the blood lycopene is significantly lower.
After 18 months of research on the relationship between tomato food intake by Sudanese children and child diarrhea mortality and respiratory tract disease rates, foreign researchers found that children who ingested or supplemented tomato food grew faster than children who did not eat tomato food. , And there are fewer malnutrition problems, and the mortality rate is reduced by 0.13%.
The mortality of children who ingested tomatoes was reduced by 45% due to diarrhea, and the mortality caused by fever was reduced, and the incidence of respiratory infections, measles and other diseases were also reduced. Researchers believe that tomatoes contain carotenoids that can produce vitamin A. Previous studies have confirmed that vitamin A supplementation can indeed effectively reduce the incidence and mortality of diarrhea, and shorten the period of diarrhea in patients.
