Surprising Ways Men Like to Eat Tomatoes and why they’re good for them

Posted by tomatowellness on June 16, 2012 in Food and Nutrition, Health, Tomato Products

by Corinne Dobbas, RD

With Father’s Day right around the corner, we’re reminded of just how special the husbands, fathers, and grandfathers are in our lives. They’ve made us laugh so hard we cried; cooked us tongue-tantalizing meals; shown us a thing or two in regards to home improvement; dazzled us with random surprising acts of kindness; and have stood there as “our rock.” And we want “our rock” to live a strong, healthy, and happy life.  As you may have guessed, part of living a healthy life, means eating well. And tomatoes, particularly cooked tomatoes, have shown to help men live well, particularly, in protecting them from prostate cancer—the second most common cancer in American men. The first is skin cancer.

What does the Research Say?

• Consuming tomato products (think tomato paste, marinara sauce, etc) has shown to be helpful in reducing the risk of prostate cancer due to the fact that tomatoes contain the powerful antioxidant, lycopene, and a variety of protective phytonutrients.
• A healthy whole diet rich in tomatoes aids in the prevention of prostate cancer, according to a 14-month study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
• A meta-analysis – the “gold standard” of medical research – of 21 studies published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention confirms that eating tomatoes, especially cooked tomatoes, provides protection against prostate cancer. When the data from all 21 studies was combined, men who ate the highest amounts of raw tomatoes were found to have an 11% reduction in risk for prostate cancer.

What do the Men Say?

Now, that we have it solidified that tomatoes and tomato products are good for men, let’s see what the men had to say. We surveyed a wide-group of American men and asked why do they like tomatoes and/or tomato products? And, how do they like to eat them. Here are some responses as to what the men had to say.

Why Men like Tomatoes/Tomato Products? (from the men themselves)

• They’re a great source of potassium and lycopene.
• They’re easy, affordable, and marinara sauce makes anything I make taste that much better!
• Tomato products, mainly tomato paste and marinara sauce (my favorites!), are simple to use. I’m too lazy to spend tons of time doctoring things up with spices. These two things make my food awesome without anything else. Plus, they’re healthy for me, right?
• They taste good. Do you really need another reason?
• They’re cheap, healthy, and taste good—enough said.

How Men like to Eat Tomatoes/Tomato Products? (from the men themselves)

• I put ketchup on my grilled cheese, since I’m too lazy to make tomato soup?
• They go great in a cucumber and tomato salad. Also, they make a great base sauce to slow cook veggies. Also salsa, salsa, salsa … on everything!!!
• I love salsa. I put it on everything from eggs to salads. In fact, I put salsa ON my salsa! The hotter the better!
• In homemade salsas and Bloody Marys!
• I LOVE tomatoes. I eat them like apples! Just take a big bite out of them raw!

Share with Us! Why do you like tomatoes or tomato products? How to you like to eat them?

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Corinne Dobbas, MS, RD is a San Francisco-based registered dietitian specializing in nutrition, health communications, and social media. She develops news segments for television stations, writes articles for various health and wellness sites, speaks at conferences, frequently guests for wellness groups in the online social media realm, counsels, and serves as a nutrition and social media consultant. Passionate about empowering people to reach and maintain a state of optimal wellness, Corinne’s messages reach thousands of people every day. Corinne strives to help people cultivate the best, healthiest, and happiest “you” there is. To learn more about Corinne, visit http://www.corinnedobbas.com/.