Do You Know These Benefits Of Tomato For Weight Loss?

While dieting, the foods that you choose to eat makes a difference. According to the doctors guidelines from the National Institutes of Health, avoiding trans fats, eating fewer processed foods, reducing the amount of refined sugars and limiting saturated fats will help you in your weight loss effort. In this article, we will be writing about whether tomatoes aid in weight loss or not.

Eating the right number of vegetables like tomatoes per day will provide you with adequate number of nutrients. Tomatoes are low in calories and will keep your tummy full for a longer period of time.

A large tomato has 33 calories and a medium sized tomato has 22 calories. A cherry tomato contains 13 calories and a plum tomato contains 11 calories. The low-calorie values and health benefits of tomatoes puts them in the power food category, which means they are good for your weight and overall health.

The juicy tomatoes are a great source of protein, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre that can significantly reduce your waist size in a month.

So, read on to know more about the benefits of tomato for weight loss.

1. Low In Calories

Tomatoes are a low-calorie food. One small tomato has 16 calories, which is great because if you consume two tomatoes, you will still consume less than 50 calories. And when your calorie intake is lower, you will be able to burn the calories even faster instead of the calories being stored as fat.

2. High On Fibre

A cup of tomatoes contains 2 grams of insoluble fibre and 0.20 grams of soluble fibre. Both soluble and insoluble fibre play a vital role in losing weight. Soluble fibre present in tomatoes forms a gel-like substance in the large intestine, where it acts as a food source to the good gut bacteria. This aids in lowering the absorption of foods, thereby increasing satiety. Whereas, insoluble fibre binds to the fat molecules and prevents their absorption.

3. Boosts Metabolism

Consuming tomato juice can boost lipid metabolism by inducing expression of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation, which has been confirmed by scientists. Researchers found that consuming tomato juice increased the Resting Energy Expenditure (REE is the number of calories required by the body while resting) and also reduced the triglyceride levels in your body.

4. Low Glycaemic Index

The low glycaemic index value of tomato is 38, which is low compared to other processed foods and many other fruits and vegetables. Glycaemic index is the measurement of how much time a portion of food takes to increase the blood sugar levels in the body. The more time the food takes to accelerate the blood sugar levels, the better. Tomatoes have a low glycaemic index, which aids in increasing the blood sugar levels slowly.

5. Rich In Antioxidants

Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a potent antioxidant that helps to scavenge the harmful oxygen radicals. Oxygen radicals tend to alter the DNA structure and create a state of stress in the body. This triggers a stress response in the body that leads to fat accumulation and weight gain in your body. So, having tomatoes will aid in reducing the oxidative stress in the body and will help in effective weight loss.

6. Anti-inflammatory Properties

Lycopene, an antioxidant present in tomatoes, is responsible for suppressing the production of pro-inflammatory biomolecules, thereby reducing inflammation. Inflammation leads to weight gain and therefore, consuming tomatoes will help reduce inflammation and prevent inflammation-induced obesity.

7. Relieves Stress

Hypertension causes weight gain in the body. A spike in blood pressure can lead to toxic build-up and emotional eating, leading to obesity. Tomatoes can help in lowering your blood pressure, as it contains beta-carotene, lycopene, and vitamin E. It will also protect you from cardiovascular diseases.

8. Increases Good Cholesterol

Regular consumption of tomatoes can cause to lower bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) and increase good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) in the body. The good cholesterol supports weight loss and prevents the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Apart from helping you to lose weight, it can prevent you from many fatal diseases.

How To Consume Tomatoes For Weight Loss?

• Add tomatoes to your salad to bring out the flavour and texture.
• Make a tangy tomato juice or a tomato smoothie. You can add other vegetables to it to make it tasty.
• Cook your own tomato stew, or while making curries, you can add tomatoes.
• Eat grilled chicken or fish with grilled tomatoes, asparagus or green beans on the side.
• Have a bowl of tomato with a dash of lime juice for snack.
• Have a bowl of tomato soup for lunch and dinner.
• You could have a perfect combination of tomato, cucumber and chicken sandwich for lunch.

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