Green tomatoes are not the same as red ones. But they offer almost similar important nutrients.
Green tomatoes are naturally immature and unripe. They are high in essential nutrients and offer a range of health benefits.
This blog contains a list of green tomato benefits.
Let’s dive in!
1. Water for Hydration
Green tomatoes are near water. They consist of 94 percent water which is essential in warm months. It can also help you on days you do more exercise.
Water-rich foods can help in digestion, thus preventing constipation. This will help you to control your appetite hence maintaining a healthy weight.
So, eat more green tomatoes regularly to enjoy more hydration benefits.
2. Improves Eye Health
Green tomato is packed with beta carotene that helps to produce healthy white blood cells responsible for protecting the health of your eyes. It’s believed that one medium green tomato contains 790 international units of vitamin A, which are responsible for beta carotene.
Beta carotene prevents cancer and age-related macular degeneration, which is the main cause of blindness.
3. Normalizes Blood Clotting
The vitamin K found in green tomatoes helps ensure normal blood clotting. Also, this vitamin helps to keep your bones strong and healthy. One medium green tomato contains 90 micrograms of the daily recommended intake of vitamin K.
And because vitamin K is fat-soluble, you can pair it with other fat sources to facilitate its absorption. It will also give you a perk of healthy fat at the same time.
4. Prevents Premature Aging
Green tomato contains a higher amount of vitamin C that produces skin cells and prevents the appearance of wrinkles on your face.
5. Prevents Cancer
The amount of vitamin A and C found in green tomatoes helps to boost the level of antibodies in our bodies to help fight cancer cells.
6. Lowers Blood Pressure
Green tomatoes are less in sodium and high in potassium. The high level of potassium in green tomatoes helps in lowering blood pressure.
7. Improves Gut Health
Green tomatoes are now high in dietary fiber. Fiber is the key nutrient responsible for gut health. It favors helpful bacteria linked to gut health.
The fiber found in green tomatoes also helps the flow of food in the stomach preventing constipation and other stomach-related issues.
8. Boosts Immunity
Green tomatoes are rich in vitamin C and packed with 29 milligrams of the antioxidant substance.
Vitamin C, together with the antioxidant substance, helps to boost your immunity system.
Also, Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron from plant-based foods like lentils and beans.
9. Lowers the Risk of Heart Disease
Green tomatoes can help lower the risk of heart diseases. They are rich in dietary fiber that is responsible for a healthy heart. One large green tomato contains 2 grams of fiber.
Adults are recommended to eat 14 grams of dietary fiber. It’s believed that 10 percent of the fiber in tomatoes is soluble. The soluble fiber can lower your cholesterol level, thus reducing the risk of developing heart disease.
10. Prevents Hemolytic Anemia
Vitamin E in green tomatoes can help prevent hemolytic anemia or abnormal damage to your body cells, reducing the risk of developing cataracts.
Using Green Tomatoes
Green tomatoes are easy to cook. They can also be eaten raw. Here are some of the recipes that you can prepare with green tomatoes.
Green Tomato Pickle
Steps
- Divide the green tomatoes and blend them with some salt and turmeric.
- Mix them with mustard paste and chili powder.
- Add some good amount of vegetable oil and toss well.
- Keep in sunlight for 2 days, and voila!
Stewed Green Tomatoes
Steps
- Saute onion in a little butter.
- Add thick-sliced green tomatoes to the pan together with curry powder, paprika, and red chili powder. Also, add salt to taste.
- Cook for 5 minutes and then caramelize them with brown sugar.
- Once tender, you can serve them with parsley.
You can use green tomatoes in different recipes to make them nutritious. For example, you can use olive oil instead of butter to reduce the saturated fat content in fried green tomatoes.
Also, you can use whole-wheat flour instead of white to increase the fiber content in green tomato bread. You can also use less salt to lower the sodium content of green tomatoes.
Conclusion
There are numerous green tomato benefits. They are low in calories and high in fiber and other essential nutrients. They are less sweet compared to the ripe red tomatoes. You can cook or eat them raw. Despite that, they provide essential nutrients responsible for your body to function well.
To enjoy the health benefits of green tomatoes, ensure you add them to your daily diet. Start today!
