Interested to know from where your favorite fruit comes from, or in other words – which are the countries that produce the most tomatoes in the world? Great, keep on reading then!
If you are one of those people who, at the mention of tomatoes, first think of ketchup, then this article may be very useful to you as we are going to discuss some health benefits of eating raw tomatoes and hope that we can convince you to change your eating habits. First of all, let’s explain why ketchup is not a perfect choice for people who want to have a truly healthy diet. This is mostly because of added sugar and salt. Yes, you read that right, even if it doesn’t taste like candy, ketchup contains a lot of sugar – one tablespoon contains around 4 grams of sugar. Why is that much sugar added to this tomato product? It is not only for the taste, and it is not only because of preservation, but it is also for the manipulation, as people can easily become addicted to food products with the high amounts of sugar. If you want to learn more about this topic, check out our article on countries that produce the most sugar in the world. Before we head on to the health benefits of raw tomato consumption, let’s say a word about the salt content in ketchup, as well. It will be enough to say that you can satisfy the daily recommended salt intake with as much as 8 tablespoons of ketchup. Enough with the ketchup? Let’s continue discussing the health benefits regular consumption of raw tomatoes can bring.
Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a carotenoid with antioxidant properties, which is responsible for the passionate red color tomatoes have. Consuming food that is rich in lycopene will also give you much healthier color as this antioxidant is often related to boosting our immune system by removing free radicals from our bodies, decreasing the risk of stroke, lowering our bad cholesterol levels and preventing artery hardening. Besides lycopene, tomatoes contain Zeaxanthin, which is flavonoid that will help your eyes stay healthy. Combine this with vitamin A that tomatoes are also rich with, and you will take a good care of your eyes by consuming this fruit regularly. Fresh raw tomatoes are an excellent source of potassium, vitamin C, and some B-complex vitamins. To make things even better – tomatoes are low in calories – 100 grams of tomatoes has around 18 calories. So, stick to tomato salads if you want to lose weight and still provide your body with a plethora of healthy nutrients, but be aware of the calories oil contains, if you add it to the salad.
To find out countries that produce the most tomatoes in the world, we’ve used statistic data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Even though only the statistics from 2013, are available, chances are nothing much has changed since then, because, as we could see from the same source, these countries below were at the top in the previous years, too. All you smokers out there, before you head on to the list, don’t forget to check our article on countries that produce the most tobacco in the world! We are sure you will find it interesting too.
So, let’s finally see which are the countries we should be thankful the most for having tomatoes at our tables!
