By: Cat Ebeling 

Here in Colorado, we have short growing seasons, and our backyard crop of tomatoes is winding down, but finishing with a bang. We have been picking oodles of gorgeous big, luscious ripe heritage tomatoes, and have so many it’s hard to know what to do with them all!

Tomatoes are considered a health food in most circles; known for having rich supplies of anti-oxidants like lycopene, beta-carotene, folate, potassium, vitamin C, other flavonoids, as well as other nutrients. Tomatoes are most famous for their copious amounts of lycopene, which is well-known as a cancer-fighting substance—especially prostate cancer in men. Lycopene has also been scientifically shown to stop or slow cancerous tumor growth as well, helping to fight against lung, stomach, colon, oral, breast, and cervical cancers as well.

Tomatoes contain other antioxidants as well including zera-carotene, phytoene and phytofluene, that fight inflammation and diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis and dementia. Their powerful antioxidants also protect against high blood pressure, and help to lower cholesterol, as well as improving blood vessel health.

Tomatoes also protect against macular degeneration, one of the leading causes of blindness in elderly people. The generous amount of vitamin C in tomatoes slows down aging, and keeps skin looking young and wrinkle-free, as well as offering nutrients that protect and help rebuild strong bones.

All sounds great, right? But can tomatoes be bad for you in any way?

Well it depends on the amount of tomatoes you eat, and whether you are sensitive to nightshades. Although tomatoes come loaded with beneficial nutrients, keep in mind that they are a nightshade vegetable that can aggravate health conditions for some people.

Many credible medical establishments, including the Cleveland Clinic, encourage avoidance of nightshades to relieve arthritis pain and other inflammatory diseases. This study shows a positive relationship between the elimination of nightshades and an improvement in arthritis symptoms.

If you already struggle with food sensitivities or allergies, or have any type of inflammatory or autoimmune disease, you should definitely pay attention to nightshades. Symptoms include joint pain or swelling, digestive issues, heartburn, irritable bowels, or any red or inflamed areas of the skin. Some nightshades can even exacerbate asthma and breathing difficulties as well.

Nightshades are a group of plants that are a part of the Solanceae family. Many nightshades are very common—in fact, most of us eat them every day. Tomatoes are a nightshade. The major plants that we eat most of that are in the nightshade family include tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant.  There are several others as well, but they are generally not consumed in large amounts by most people.  The 4 listed above are the nightshades most eaten in large quantities.

Nightshades are known to cause a type of inflammation through a compound called “solanine” which can irritate the digestive tract, and even cause breakdown in red blood cells. Nightshades can cause worsening of arthritis in many people, as well as exacerbating irritable bowel syndrome, heartburn, acid reflux, and other GI issues. Solanine is primarily found in potatoes, while the tomato version of this is called “tomatine”.

This alkaloid is concentrated in the green portions of the plant. While you wouldn’t eat the green leafy part of a tomato, green tomatoes, as in ‘fried green tomatoes’ contain more concentrated tomatine amounts. Tomatine and solanine alkaloids can irritate the gastrointestinal system and even affect brain neurotransmitters like acetylcholine.

Tomatoes can also worsen acid reflux and heartburn conditions in many people and the seeds can be very harmful to those who are prone to diverticulitis (an inflammatory disease of the large intestine).

So while tomatoes can have a lot of health benefits if eaten in moderate quantities, if you happen to have joint pain, arthritis or heartburn, it may be worthwhile to lay off them and the rest of the nightshade family for a month or so to see if they are causing a problem for you, or worsening your symptoms. However, the nightshade family includes a lot of relatives, so its important be sure to include all of them if you are going to avoid them. These include:

• ­All varieties of tomatoes
• ­Tomatillos
• White potatoes (sweet potatoes are OK and are not nightshades)
• Eggplant
• ­Okra
• ­All varieties of peppers—hot or sweet
• Goji berries
• ­Sorrel
• ­Gooseberries
• Tobacco
• ­Paprika
• ­Cayenne pepper
• Chili powder

Mike’s Note:  To add on to Catherine’s comments, I’d like to add that I think the main harm from nightshades can come from over-consuming them on a regular basis year round… If you think about it, part of studying Paleo principles of nutrition are that many foods would have only been eaten seasonally by our ancestors, and not continuously year-round.  

My personal theory on nightshades is that they have good compounds AND bad compounds in them, but our ancestors probably only ate them for 2-3 months of the year, and not 12 months of the year.  Therefore, it’s not that tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes are bad for us entirely…they’re actually good for us in many ways… But, they’re probably best cycled in and out of our diet, or only eaten once or twice a week as opposed to every single day.  That way, you benefit from some of the good nutrients in them, but without over-doing the bad compounds that nightshades can contain.  

Once again though, if you have Arthritis, severe digestive disorders, or an autoimmune disease, it’s best to avoid nightshades most of the time, or at least for a certain time period to see if they are affecting you negatively.

References:

http://www.esnsa-eg.com/download/researchFiles/(4)%20114.12.pdf

https://draxe.com/nightshade-vegetables/

https://draxe.com/tomato-nutrition/

http://theheartysoul.com/dangers-of-nightshades/?utm_source=DRM&utm_content=10912-G0I8

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2877586/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23883692

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By: Catherine Ebeling 
Co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Nothing says “Summer” better than a cool, refreshing, sweet, juicy, delicious slice of ripe watermelon—no matter what time of year it is. But I often hear cautions on eating watermelon—that it is high glycemic, full of sugar, mostly water, not very nutritious, etc.

Right? Or wrong?

While watermelons are mostly water—90% or so, they are also full of vitamins A, B6, C, lycopene, antioxidants and minerals. Remember hearing about the lycopene in tomatoes? Watermelon, another red-colored fruit, is FULL of this powerful phytonutrient! In fact, watermelon has some of the highest levels of lycopene of all fruits and veggies. Just one cup of watermelon has 1 and a half times the lycopene of a large fresh tomato. And who eats just one cup of watermelon? I know I don’t!

Because watermelon is one of the best sources of lycopene with more than 6,500 micrograms in less than half a cup, you are getting an army’s worth of inflammation-fighting antioxidant activity! Lycopene from the red flesh of watermelon is very stable, even after the watermelon has been cut and stored in the refrigerator. Lycopene is thought to be even more powerful than its other orange/red colored ally, beta carotene—found in red and orange fruits and veggies.

Cardiovascular Benefits

Lycopene is a powerful natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, valued for its role in protecting the cardiovascular system, bone health, and preventing cancer. Along with lycopene, watermelons contain another powerful phytochemical, citrulline, an amino acid. Citrulline gets converted into another important chemical in the body, arginine, or L-arginine. Arginine is used to create nitric oxide, which has powerful benefits on the heart and blood vessels. NO can actually cause blood vessels to relax and open up, lowering blood pressure and helping the body carry more oxygen to parts of the body where it is needed–like muscles, your heart and your brain. A study from Florida State University found that watermelon could make a significant difference in lowering blood pressure–especially in overweight people, by relaxing the blood vessel walls.

Citrulline, when it converts into arginine, can also help prevent excess accumulation of fat in fat cells, because it blocks an enzyme that stores this fat. And because citrulline is a precursor to nitric oxide, it can also help improve erectile dysfunction in men, in a similar way that Viagra works—although you would have to quite a bit of watermelon to get the same effect as Viagra.

As you can see in this article, watermelons are on the list of foods that beat statins for heart health!

It’s All About the Lycopene

Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants, capable of destroying free radicals which attack our bodies and can contribute to chronic disease and aging. In one study of 13,000 adult Americans, low levels of carotenoids were a key predictor of early death. Especially low blood levels of lycopene! Lycopene protects our cardiovascular system, the male reproductive system, and in the skin, it protects and prevents UV damage from the sun.

Several studies have been conducted showing the strong link between levels of lycopene and heart disease. Analyses from the Physicians Health Study showed a 39% decrease in stroke risk in men with the highest blood levels of lycopene. Another study in Finland following 1,000 men for 12 years has had similar results as well.

Lycopene is also responsible for limiting the enzyme responsible for making cholesterol, so eating foods with more lycopene also helps to reduce cholesterol—specifically, LDL cholesterol.  (Side note:  speaking of heart health, did you know that grass fed dairy fat actually contains nutrients that help unclog your arteries)

Anti-Cancer Power

Lycopene is a life-saver in more ways than one! Besides its cardiovascular benefits, lycopene’s antioxidant power extends to anti-cancer effects as well. A 2014 meta-analysis of 10 studies shows dietary lycopene to be protective against ovarian cancers, as well as brain tumors and breast tumors.

And of course, we know about lycopene’s value in fighting prostate cancer. In several studies, higher intakes of foods containing lycopene and a higher serum or plasma concentration of lycopene was associated with a very significant decreased risk of prostate cancer—especially the more lethal kind of prostate cancer. When researchers studied only the men who had had at least one high risk PSA test, the subjects had a 50% decreased risk of lethal prostate cancer.

“Based on these results, we hypothesize that the consumption of a diet rich in lycopene-containing foods reduces the aggressive potential of prostate cancer by inhibiting the neoangiogenesis that occurs in tumor development,” Dr. Giovannucci’s team reported online ahead of print in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.”

Other studies have shown lycopene’s powerful cancer fighting ability effective against lung cancer, esophageal, stomach, pancreatic, colorectal, and cervical cancers as well.

Extremely Good for Rehydration

Watermelons get their name because they are over 90% water, and that water is full of electrolytes and potassium which helps you stay hydrated or to rehydrate. The perfect fruit to eat on hot summer days, or after a hard, sweaty workout! And that delicious juice can also help prevent muscle soreness—especially if you have watermelon before your intense workout.

Its Not Just the Red Part

While most of us only eat the juicy red flesh of the watermelon, the whole thing is actually edible and chock full of nutrients! From the red center to the stem end, and also the blossom end–including the white part near the rind–are a plethora of impressive antioxidants, flavonoids, lycopene, and vitamin C. Even the green rind is full of nutrients. The rind is full of chlorophyll, and contains even more citrulline than the red flesh. Try throwing your watermelon rinds into the blender with fresh squeezed lime juice for a healthy slushy treat.

It is still best, however, to pick ripest, reddest watermelon you can find. Lycopene content continues to increase all the way up until the time the watermelon is at its reddest and ripest.

And don’t spit out those seeds, unless you are in a watermelon seed-spitting contest! The black watermelon seeds are not only edible, but actually extremely good for you. They are full of iron, zinc, fiber and protein. Seedless watermelons are ok to eat too—they are not genetically modified, only hybrid forms of watermelon bred especially for their no-seed content.

Watermelons also are rich in anti-inflammatory substances including cucurbitacin E, tripterpenoid which help to block the pain and inflammation of certain enzymes, in a similar fashion as NSAID’s like ibuprofen and aspirin.

While being very low in calories (only about 46 calories in a cup), watermelon also contains an impressive variety of other important essential nutrients including:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin B6
• Potassium
• Magnesium

The Age Old Question—How Do You Pick the Perfect Watermelon?

It can be a huge gamble finding the perfect, red, sweet watermelon. But—if you know what to look for, there is a real method to finding the best one. Look on the underside of the watermelon for a pale, butter-colored yellow spot—not white or green. This is one of the best indicators of the ripeness of the watermelon. Also pick up a few and choose the one that is heaviest for its size. Many people ‘thump’ the watermelon to check its ripeness too—listen for the best hollow bass sound.

Be aware that watermelons do contain a reasonable quantity of fructose, so be mindful of your sugar intake, and eat watermelon in moderation.  With that said, because watermelons are so filling, and have both high water content AND high fiber content, the old myth that watermelons are high glycemic is not entirely true… This is because the “glycemic load” of a watermelon is actually fairly low since it’s nearly impossible to overeat large quantities of a food that is as filling as watermelon.

So enjoy your watermelon, knowing you’re doing your body good!  Also try my friend Danette’s watermelon & lime juice drink here!

References:

Charnow, (Feb 2014). Lycopene May Decrease Prostate Cancer Risk. Retrieved from http://www.renalandurologynews.com/prostate-cancer/lycopene-may-decrease-prostate-cancer-risk/article/335907/

Figueroa, Wong, Kalfon. (2014). Effects of Watermelon Supplementation on Aortic Hemodynamic Responses to the Cold Pressor Test in Obese Hypertensive Adults. American Journal of Hypertension, 2014; DOI: 10.1093/ajh/hpt295

Furhrman, J., MD. How Tomatoes Can Protect You Against Heart Attack and Stroke. Retrieved from http://www.timigustafson.com/2013/how-tomatoes-can-protect-you-against-heart-attack-and-stroke/

Hak AE, Ma J, Powell CB, et al. (2004). Prospective study of plasma carotenoids and tocopherols in relation to risk of ischemic stroke. Stroke 2004; 35:1584-1588.

Journal of the National Cancer Institute. (Feb 1999). Tomatoes, Tomato-Based Products, Lycopene, and Cancer: Review of the Epidemiologic Literature. Retrieved from http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/91/4/317.full

Karppi J, Laukkanen JA, Sivenius J, et al. (2012). Serum lycopene decreases the risk of stroke in men: A population-based follow-up study. Neurology 2012; 79:1540-1547.

Karppi J, Laukkanen JA, Makikallio TH, et al. (2011). Low serum lycopene and beta-carotene increase risk of acute myocardial infarction in men. Eur J Public Health 2011.

Mateljan, G. World’s Healthiest Foods. Retrieved from http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=31

Mercola, J., DO. (2014). 6 things you didn’t know about watermelon. Retrieved from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/07/21/watermelon-nutrition.aspx#_edn15

Szalay,J. (October, 2014). Watermelon: Health Benefits, Risks & Nutrition Facts. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/46019-watermelon-nutrition.html

Shardell MD, Alley DE, Hicks GE, et al. Low-serum carotenoid concentrations and carotenoid interactions predict mortality in US adults: the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Nutr Res 2011; 31:178-189.

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