My ten a day tomato habit

Before I get stuck into my thoughts on my ten a day tomato habit, I’d just like to pause for a reflective moment. I’ve just closed Twitter and Facebook. Just the pages, not the accounts. The Coronavirus news is filling me with too many morbid thoughts. So I thought I’d take a break for an hour, just to ease the pain.

On the day that the USA passes twenty-six thousand dead and the UK homes in on thirteen thousand, I find a dental nurse from Sketty – just down the road from me – has fallen victim to the disease. I looked at her photograph and imagined her previous life and premature end. It’s not a face I know, but one you see on passers-by without thought of what their life is about. Now I’m imagining what life must be for her husband, son, sister and parents, all of whom are now suffering unimaginable grief. Rest in peace, Linette, my thoughts are with you.

Tomatoes

For some reason I’m eating a lot of tomatoes lately. The small ones are my favourites. It’s probably because I’ve fewer biscuits in the house and I’ve placed a bowl of cherry tomatoes on the counter in the kitchen. They make a good substitute, which aren’t as gratifying as biscuits when I have a sugar craving, but taste much better and leave a pleasant aftertaste. That’s not to mention the health benefits.

They’re mostly carbohydrate and water, with a smidgen of fibre, but they also contain a fair amount of vitamins and minerals. The vitamins in a tomato are A, C, E and a little bit of B and K. The minerals are calcium and magnesium. Importantly, they also contain potassium. Importantly for me, that is – although most of us could do with a bit more potassium. A hundred grams of tomatoes will have roughly six percent of the daily NRV of potassium and recent study showed that with a normal diet, most of us will not hit our daily NRV of potassium, many by as much as fifty percent.

I use supplements. There are two kinds: Potassium Chloride and Potassium Citrate. Potassium citrate is an alkalising agent. It is used when your urine is too acidic. Your doctor may prescribe potassium citrate if you have a mild urinary tract infection, such as cystitis. Potassium chloride is a form of potassium for people who have low levels of potassium, also known as hypokalaemia. I use Potassium Chloride.

Your body uses potassium to help your heart, muscles, kidneys, nerves and digestive system work properly. There is evidence that higher dietary potassium intake is associated with lower rates of stroke and may be associated with lower rates of heart disease. Low potassium levels can lead to higher blood pressure and irregular heart rhythms. It’s worth checking out your potassium levels the next time you go to the doctor.

In the meantime, it won’t do you any harm to eat a few more tomatoes. Ten a day will give you your one hundred grams. Add in a banana, a glass of milk, a chicken breast and a can of tuna and you’re well on your way. Here’s a list of foods that contain potassium:

• Winter squash, cubed, 1 cup, cooked: 896 mg
• Sweet potato, medium, baked with skin: 694 mg
• Potato, medium, baked with skin: 610 mg
• White beans, canned, drained, half cup: 595 mg
• Yogurt, fat-free, 1 cup: 579 mg
• Halibut, 3 ounces, cooked: 490 mg
• 100% orange juice, 8 ounces: 496 mg
• Broccoli, 1 cup, cooked: 457 mg
• Cantaloupe, cubed, 1 cup: 431 mg
• Banana, 1 medium: 422 mg
• Pork tenderloin, 3 ounces, cooked: 382 mg
• Lentils, half cup, cooked: 366 mg
• Milk, 1% low fat, 8 ounces: 366 mg
• Salmon, farmed Atlantic, 3 ounces, cooked: 326 mg
• Pistachios, shelled, 1 ounce, dry roasted: 295 mg
• Raisins, quarter cup: 250 mg
• Chicken breast, 3 ounces, cooked: 218 mg
• Tuna, light, canned, drained, 3 ounces: 201 mg

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Tomatoes don’t just look after your heart and blood, they’re pretty good for your eyes too. They contain a group of phytochemicals called carotenoids (lycopene, lutein and beta-carotene). These compounds help ensure your eyes remain healthy. They MAY – big letters – protect against age-related macular degeneration.

It doesn’t stop there, either. The carotenoids in tomatoes may help UV damage to your skin. They won’t stop you burning, but they’ll help with the damage caused by UV.

Being a good source of vitamin K they’ll help with blood clotting and wound healing, as well as being of some benefit in bone and cardiovascular health.

There IS evidence that cooking tomatoes increases their nutritional value, in particular their antioxidant activity, so this is why Italians are so healthy. Eat Bolognese, everyone.

So my ten tomatoes a day habit in the lockdown may just improve my health. Bonus.