Micah Stanley
Tomato juice is very healthy. Whether you have cardiovascular disease, infertility, or cancer: drink tomato juice regularly. He helps!
Tomato juice tastes completely different on the plane
Tomato juice is one of the most popular vegetable juices, along with carrot juice and beetroot juice. But while fruit juices are very popular, vegetable juices are used comparatively rarely. Every German enjoys around 40 liters of fruit juice a year, but only 1 liter of vegetable juice, even though it contains fewer calories and sugar.
It is amazing that tomato juice is extremely popular, especially on air travel. A total of 1.7 million liters were served on board Lufthansa in 2008. When the US airline United removed the juice from the menu in the summer of 2018, it was promptly rewarded with a shitstorm – it can now be ordered there again.
The secret was revealed as early as 2010: A study by the Fraunhofer Institute showed that the taste of tomato juice is perceived very differently on the ground and in the air. While tomato juice was described as musty at normal pressure, the focus at low pressure was on seductive fruity aromas and cooling and sweet taste nuances.
Drink tomato juice instead of eating vegetables
The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) recommends eating three portions of vegetables (about 400 grams) a day. This can improve health status and reduce the risk of illness. Unfortunately, Europeans consume on average only around 50 percent of this recommended daily amount.
A study at the University of California Davis showed that vegetable juices, such as tomato juice, can help achieve the recommended amount of vegetables per day, e.g. B. by replacing a portion of vegetables with a glass (200 ml) of vegetable juice. But there are many other good reasons to drink tomato juice more often.
Protection against liver disease, colon tumors, and prostate cancer
As in the tomato itself, tomato juice naturally also contains numerous bioactive substances such as vitamin C, polyphenols, and carotenoids, which, among other things, contribute to the prevention of cancer and liver diseases. A study at the University of Murcia has shown that tomato juice helps keep the liver healthy by neutralizing free radicals and positively influencing the cell cycle.
A study by Italian researchers has shown that the carotenoid lycopene contained in tomato juice counteracts cell proliferation and the growth of intestinal tumors. In addition, tomato juice is said to reduce the risk of prostate cancer, which was again confirmed by a comprehensive review at the University of Illinois in 2018. Processed tomatoes performed better than raw ones, which is attributed to the better bioavailability of lycopene in cooked tomato dishes.
Tomato juice for the heart, the blood vessels, and the cholesterol level
Chronic inflammation not only paves the way for cancer but also for many other diseases. A Spanish study has shown that drinking tomato juice reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease because it counteracts inflammation and thus arteriosclerosis.
Greek researchers, on the other hand, have found that tomato juice is good for people with metabolic syndrome. The test subjects drank tomato juice twice a day for two months, after which their inflammation values, vascular disorders, and insulin resistance improved. While the bad LDL cholesterol was reduced, the good HDL cholesterol increased.
Sperm quality improves
According to a Japanese study, regular consumption of tomato juice can also help infertile men. After the subjects had drunk a can of tomato juice (with 30 milligrams of lycopene) daily for 12 weeks, the motility of the sperm, which e.g. can be negatively influenced by inflammation, significantly improved.
Tomato juice in the test
Be sure to keep your eyes open when buying industrially manufactured tomato juices. The quality usually leaves a lot to be desired. A test of 13 tomato juices showed that not a single one received a good rating: 10 received a satisfactory rating and 3 were even classified as poor.
It was u. a. criticized that the juices were too rediluted and contained a number of ingredients, although the packaging said “100 percent fruit content”. The juices also contained up to 9.5 grams of salt per liter. Last but not least, the aroma was not convincing at all.
If you want to buy tomato juice, do it at the organic supermarket. You can also make your own tomato juice. If you don’t have a juicer, simply put fully ripe tomatoes in your blender, add water depending on the consistency you want, maybe herbs like basil and oregano, mix thoroughly and then pour in the tomato smoothie (which you can of course also drink unsifted). fine sieve. Now you can season it to taste with salt and pepper and, if necessary, a little olive oil.
