The tomato in the diet against high blood pressure and health benefits. The team coordinated by Mauro Minelli, clinical immunologist and professor of Food Sciences, talks about the tomato. The first episode of the new summer format ‘The taste of health’, created by Minelli and online on his Facebook page, is dedicated to tomatoes. “He is the king of vegetables, and his noble stature is established by the golden dimension that makes up his name (golden apple). It came to us from the ends of the world, exactly from the Americas at the end of 1500 and, for a long time , it was frowned upon because it was considered a berry of suspicious origin – Minelli recalls – From 1700 onwards, first with tomato juice, then with its most famous elaborations, it became an absolute protagonist of our food set “.

“Few calories, lots of water and different components – explains the biologist nutritionist Dominga Maio – which are important for promoting, among other things, a healthy, balanced and functional intestinal environment. Also not to be overlooked is the potential to support the cardiovascular sector by virtue of the conspicuous amount of potassium of which the tomato is supplied, making it useful above all for those suffering from high blood pressure. Important for human health are the substances contained in the skin of the tomato, beta-carotene and lycopene which perform various protective functions on our body, also due to a precious antioxidant activity. Consumed raw, tomatoes can be a mine of vitamin C, which is essential for promoting the proper functioning of the immune system “.

“Watch out for contraindications for those who are allergic – warns Ilaria Vergallo, nutrition biologist – who warns about the allergenic potential of tomatoes, especially in terms of the so-called cross reactions that are triggered between pollen and food of vegetable origin. Among other things, the tomato contains histamine, well known by allergy sufferers, and is contraindicated for those who have an allergy to nickel with an ascertained systemic value (Snas). Reduced quantities of tomatoes must also be consumed by those suffering from gastritis or gastroesophageal reflux ”. In summary, Mauro Minelli concludes, “for tomatoes there are situations to be considered in the face of indisputable advantages both in terms of taste and benefits”.

Speaking of allergy to nickel (metal that the tomato derives from the soil in which it is grown), with reference to Snas, Minelli explains that “there are field trials, therefore authentic cultivations in all respects, which make it possible to produce tomatoes containing quantities of nickel which are really negligible and which therefore allow the intake of tomatoes even in those subjects particularly sensitive to nickel for food “. Tomato remains a precious food for everyone, but the advice of nutrition experts will eventually help modulate the quantities to be taken in the daily diet.