Why are tomatoes bad for you?

Tomato is the common vegetable in most recipes, even some know it as citrus fruit. It’s delicious squeezy and gives an amazing taste to your dishes. No wonder why it is the chief guest in 90% of salad recipes. Besides, tomatoes are healthy and good for your body, as they are rich in a substance called lycopene that gives it its red color and known as an antioxidant. Also, they are rich in vitamins and potassium that help control blood pressure. However, some look at it as a poisoned apple that can kill them. So, why are tomatoes bad for you? Why may some assume tomatoes are dangerous? And who should not eat tomatoes?

In this article, we will answer all these questions and more to give you the whole picture about whether our beloved tomatoes are good or evil.

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Can tomatoes be healthy for you?

Actually, eating tomatoes in moderation is good for you and may benefit your health significantly.

Tomatoes are rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals essential for your body. Though, like all kinds of foods, eating too much of anything can have its dangerous side effects that outweigh any health benefits.

Tomatoes belong to the nightshade family, which is a plant family that includes over 2,300 plan species. You may find bell peppers, potatoes, and eggplants on the list of nightshades.

Some assume that nightshades are poisonous or at least unhealthy and have countless side effects. However, this is not true, as it depends on individual sensitivity, the plant kind, and many other factors.

Consuming tomatoes everyday can help you boost your health significantly as they are rich in powerful antioxidants like lycopene and beta-carotene which makes it good for

Eye health.
Losing weight and reduce obesity risk
Skin health, as it protects against harmful UV radiations from the sun.
Used in beauty products as tan removal.
Lower risk of cancer.
Control hypertension as it’s rich in potassium.
Prevents cardiovascular diseases.
Better brain health.

What happens if you eat tomatoes every day?

Eating tomatoes every day can help boost your eye, brain, skin heart and overall health because of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants it contains. However, tomatoes and most nightshade family like eggplants and pepper may cause inflammation as it contains solanine. So, eating it everyday may not be a good idea for people who suffer from arthritis and autoimmune diseases, as it may aggravate their symptoms

Why are tomatoes bad for weight loss?

In contrast to what some might think, tomatoes aren’t bad for weight loss. In fact, it can work as an appetite-suppressant as it has a high content of water and fibers that helps keep you full while consuming low calories. Also, tomatoes can reverse leptin resistance, which can increase your metabolic rate and put another break on your appetite. However, you must not depend only on tomatoes to lose weight as you have to follow a balanced diet to avoid any health issues.

Do tomatoes help you lose belly fat?

Sure, tomatoes are excellent candidates that can help you lose weight, boost your metabolism, lower leptin resistance and finally help you lose belly fat. Nevertheless, it doesn’t just help you lose weight from the abdomen area, but also from all your body.

Are Tomatoes Bad for You?

Definitely, it’s hard to pass one day without having tomatoes on one or two of your daily meals. Anyway, tomatoes when fresh can’t make food taste bad. Even though tomatoes can be a healthy addition to your plates, they also can be bad for you, which makes it better to eliminate tomatoes and other nightshades from your meals.

So, the question is, are tomatoes really bad for you? And Why are they bad for you?

Nightshades including tomatoes contain compounds called glycoalkaloid that give them the bitter taste. Also, this substance is the major weapon for the nightshades against pests and insects. Then, how the glycoalkaloid can affect your body? And who should eliminate or at least avoid eating too much nightshades generally and tomatoes especially?

Can you eat too much tomatoes?

Eating too much tomatoes may:

1. Cause gastrointestinal discomfort

Studies showed glycoalkaloid may penetrate red blood cells membranes.

Also, research shows that glycoalkaloids have the potential to burst red blood cells wide open by penetrating through their membranes. This may aggravate Irritable Bowel Disorder (IBD) with all its unpleasant symptoms like bloating, indigestion. Also, nightshades including tomatoes are pro inflammatory, even though they contain antioxidants which counter inflammation, still your body can be more sensitive to glycoalkaloids.

Eating too many tomatoes can increase the risk of developing digestive problems. Indigestion is one of the most popular problems reported by people who over-eat it.

2. Can damage nerves and cause neurological symptoms

In the past, people believed eating eggplants can make people lose their attachment to reality. Well, that might explain a lot, as eating nightshades more than the amount your body can handle can cause you symptoms like confusion, headache and restlessness. However, eating them in moderate amounts are good for your brain health as they contain polyphenols, which are strong antioxidants.

3. Aggravates autoimmune symptoms

In fact, those who have autoimmune diseases can experience symptoms flare up after eating tomatoes. As autoimmune diseases means that your body is mistakenly attacking certain parts of your body, assuming it is harmful. Autoimmune conditions increase because of chronic inflammation, so eating foods causing inflammation might not be a good idea.

However, that doesn’t mean you have to eliminate it totally from your diet. Instead, you can play it according to the AIP protocol (elimination diet). You may not be that sensitive to nightshades family and tomatoes as well, in that case, you won’t need to eliminate it from your diet. Also, you may ask your doctor for advice about whether you can eat these foods safely or not.

4. Can increase joint pain in case of arthritis

Do tomatoes cause inflammation?

Besides the inflammatory response that you may experience when eating tomatoes because of glycoalkaloids, there is another substance that may worsen arthritis symptoms. In fact, that substance is called solanine that can build up calcium in joints, which increases inflammation.

Arthritis can cause swelling and pain in your joints, which can limit your movement.

5. Acid Reflux:

Tomatoes have malic acid and citric acid, which makes your stomach excessively acidic. Eating too many can cause heartburn or acid reflux due to the production of excess gastric acid in the stomach. People who frequently suffer from digestive stress or have symptoms of GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) may want to go easy on tomatoes.

6. Triggers allergies:

It is amongst the foods that can cause allergy. So, actually there is something called tomato intolerance that appears with symptoms like rash, pain, itching, swelling in mouth, face and tongue. This is due to the presence of histamine that triggers the allergic symptoms in some individuals.

7. Building kidney Stones:

Tomatoes are rich in calcium oxalate, which is the main reason that leads to building kidney stones. Then, when eating too much and not drinking enough water, you may be at high risk of formation of kidney stones.

5. Developing lycopenodermia:

Although some may benefit from Lycopene to promote their skin health, except that excess Lycopene may cause skin discoloration. In fact, you can take up to 75 mg per day, but exceeding that amount may lead to lycopenodermia.

Some may take available lycopene supplements to boost their skin health. However, it’s necessary to consult your physician before this step.

2- Salmonella infection:

If you didn’t wash tomatoes well before eating, then, there is a high risk that it might cause salmonella infection.

However, being infected with salmonella can make you develop unpleasant symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and headache.

Are tomatoes bad for your gut?

Eating too much of this vegetable can cause digestive issues.

One of the side effects of eating too many tomatoes include gastroesophageal reflux (heartburn).

In fact, this vegetable contains high malic and citric acid which increases the probability of causing acidic reflux (acid rise from your stomach through your throat) after you eat too much. Naturally, your stomach releases gastric acid when starting digestion. However, eating too much may lead to excess acidity in your stomach.

Which is the poison tomao part?

Some may ask which tomato part has the poison so they can easily cut it and eat it without any problems? Actually, most glycoalkaloids are located on leaves and the peel, although tiny amounts are still present in the flesh. Fortunately, you won’t eat the leaves, and you may peel the skin to avoid eating most of the glycoalkaloids content.