What Nutrition Does a Tomato Have?

Tomatoes provide the body with lycopene, a valuable source of nutrition. Lycopene has shown that it prevents damage to the cells causing cancers of many types. These include colon cancer, prostate cancer prevention, and also breast cancers. It is the folate mineral inside of a tomato that helps to ward off these cancers.

Vitamins C and A are also present in the tomato. Vitamin C is one vitamin that protects us from free radicals, which are those compounds that destroy cells that are healthy. Free radicals tear away at the immune system, and therefore promote viruses and other illnesses we don't want. Vitamin A on the other hand, plays a role in helping to improve your eyesight, as well as helping to strengthen your immunity from colds and flus. One cup of a natural tomato provides you with over 50 percent of vitamin C and right around 20 percent of your vitamin A.

Tomatoes are also strong in niacin, which is a vitamin that is water soluble. Niacin lowers cholesterol and triglycerides, so a healthy low fat diet that is rich in tomato sources should significantly lower your blood lipid levels.

Potassium is a mineral that your body needs in order to live. This mineral also has a lot to do with helping your nerves function properly right along with giving the proper strength to your body's muscles. Your risk of hypertension is also lessened through eating potassium rich foods. Tomatoes are a food that can provide you with a great potassium source along with bananas. They provide at least 10 percent of your daily requirement.

Tomatoes carry chromium too. Chromium is a mineral which helps to lower your blood sugar levels as well as certain types of migraine headaches.

Tomato juice helps with blood clotting. This is due to the fact that tomato juice has some unique properties which help to thin the blood and keep the platelets from sticking together.

Lastly, tomatoes contain vitamin K. Vitamin K is helpful to bone health since they provide about 19 percent of what your body needs daily. What vitamin K does is stimulate the action of osteocalcin. Osteocalcin is what makes up most of the bone's protein that is not collagen related. The osteocalcin levels that you have in your body will then attach itself to your bones, and hence, causes calcium to work in your favor.

Vitamin B12 Foods - Know Your Vitamin B12 Rich Foods

The most complicated and the most abundant vitamin that goes into our bodies is the Vitamin known as B12. Vitamin B12 is responsible in maintaining a healthy central nervous system and essential for brain health. Deficiencies in vitamin B12, even slight deficiencies can cause a person to feel tired, depressed, and can cause anemia. B12 is found naturally in animal products. B12 is also manufactured by bacteria.

This vitamin is made in a synthetic form and added to some foods. You never need to be concerned about getting too much B12 as you would with some vitamins. An overabundance in several vitamins can cause havoc in your body. B12 is, however, different. This is because the extra B12 that you take in is stored in your liver for future use by the body or excreted out of the body. It is thought that excess vitamin B12 that the body takes in is stored and can last for up to a year if your supply runs low.

The foods that contain the most B12 are as follows:

Shellfish: These foods include mussels, clams, and oysters. Clams provide the highest vitamin B12 intake per serving. Any of these can be made into soup form, such as in a chowder base. They are also eaten fried, raw, baked or steamed.

Animal Liver: Animal livers are loaded with B12. In order of the highest vitamin B12 foods per serving are lamb, beef, veal, moose, turkey, duck, and goose. These meats can be eaten baked, fried or steamed.

Fish Eggs: Not a high priority on most people's list of favorite foods, fish eggs are high in vitamin B12 foods. If you can tolerate them they are a good source of this vitamin.

Octopus: Octopus is not too popular in America, but very well thought of in Japan, Hawaii, and the Mediterranean. Octopus is a very good source of B12.

Fish: Fish is a popular food that contains quite a bit of the B12. Some sources of this food are mackerel, tuna, herring, sardines, cod, bluefish and trout. Fish not only has a lot of B12, but it is low in cholesterol and loaded with omega 3.

Lobster and Crab: A favorite of many seafood lovers, lobster and crab is delicious steamed or baked.

Beef: Depending on the type of cut that is chosen, beef is a great source of vitamin B12 foods. Delicious and very popular, beef can be either in the form of a sirloin, chuck, ribs, or rib eye cut.

Lamb: Generally eaten in Europe, the Mediterranean, of the Mid East, lamb is a popular food. The highest B12 vitamins are contained in the shoulder of the lamb.

Cheese: Cheese eaters rejoice. Cheese is a vitamin B12 rich food. The best types of cheese for this vitamin are swiss, Parmesan, mozzarella, and feta cheese. Cheese is a favorite or most people.

Eggs: High in vitamin B12 foods, eggs are an extremely popular food item. The best eggs for B12 intake are eggs that come from chickens, goose and duck.

Make sure to eat your favorite vitamin B12 foods to prevent deficiencies in this important vitamin.