Tomatoes can be considered both a vegetable or fruit
The Chinese medicine nutrition book describes the tomato as a beautiful, colourful, tender, juicy and tasty food. As tomatoes can be considered both a vegetable or a fruit; this book not only describes the physical aspects of the tomatoes but also the medical usage of tomatoes. The book helps us to understand how valuable the tomatoes are to eat and to use for health.
One Chinese book called “Lu chun herbs” records tomatoes as tasting sweet and sour but its characteristics are cold which help in the nutrition of the Spleen, Liver and Kidney functions. Because of its characteristics tomatoes help in the following health problems.
- They are suitable for people with Liver function problems as well as high blood pressure and burst blood vessels behind the eye. Because tomatoes can nourish the Liver and repair blood vessels as well as tranquilise the Liver, it can be used to reduce blood pressure due to this. For these problems, eating one raw tomato with your breakfast can help to reduce these conditions.
- For those who have a poor appetite, indigestion or bloating after eating. They are especially good for children who have these symptoms. Because tomatoes helps to nourish the Spleen and increase digestive functioning by improving the transportation of food through the digestive tract thus increasing appetite. For these symptoms it’s best to eat the tomato cooked either fried or boiled because it increases the effect of the tomato.
- For people who have drunk a lot of alcohol, with symptoms of dizziness, nausea, headaches and tiredness. As tomatoes can quickly remove the toxic alcohol from the Liver it is best to drink tomato juice to get a good result. To prevent drunkenness during drinking alcohol, drink tomato juice can help reduce the accumulation of toxins in the Liver. Always remember to not over drink alcohol.
Modern science also highly recommends tomato, as it contains many vitamins needed by the body. For example vitamin C, vitamin P (bioflavonoids) and vitamins which help to increase elasticity and durability of the blood vessels. Eating more tomato helps to reduce the appearance of Liver spots on the skin surface. Also tomatoes help to increase urination and thus is beneficial for kidney function problems. This point coincides with the Chinese medicine book which highlights how tomatoes can improve Kidney function.
Precautions
As tomato has a cold characteristic, women during their period or giving birth within one month are advised to avoid tomatoes as this stage of the body requires warmth. Eating the tomato cooked will help reduce the cold effects of the tomato but it’s best to reduce consumption during these times.
If the body constitution is deficient in Yang, or contains a lot of “Cold”, it is also advised to avoid tomatoes as well.
If you are unsure after reading this article whether you should avoid or eat more tomato, ask an experienced Chinese medicine practitioner to find out.
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