April 10th, 2011 | 
Author: 
One of the main reasons a lot of people take up organic gardening is because they know it’s good for the environment. This is true for several reasons: it encourages and attracts wildlife, it results in the spreading of seeds and the birth of new plants, it’s good for the atmosphere, it prevents us buying genetically modified produce from super markets, it prevents us using nasty man made chemicals and it encourages recycling and avoiding waste. Another reason many people take up the hobby however is to improve their health by getting lots of naturally grown fruits and vegetables. Growing organic tomato plants can do both these things effectively and is in fact one of the best ways to satisfy both criteria.
Organic tomato plants help the environment in all the above mentioned ways. Due to their bright colours they are in fact particularly good at attracting insects and other animals to your garden which can result in bees pollinating your plants and helping them to make honey themselves (bees in particular like bright colours and little produce is as colourful as the tomato). And while you may get annoyed at your tomatoes being eaten by critters, this will actually help spread their seeds and mean that animals all around the area can benefit from their goodness. When it comes to health benefits though there’s certainly no denying the clout of the organic tomato plants.
The first health benefit that tomato plants are renowned for is their high content of antioxidants which are also found in fish and some vitamins. These prevent the oxidisation – or rapid bombardment/rusting to you and me – of our cell walls. This is important as this process is what can eventually lead to damage of our genetic code (or DNA) and accounts for both aging and many cases of cancer. So in other words then, antioxidants found in organic tomato plants can not only help you live longer and age more gracefully, but can also protect against cancer. The antioxidant in tomatoes is known as lycopene, and is also what gives tomatoes their brilliant shade of red. This alone makes them one of the best health foods you can grow and more than worth the effort.
As though that wasn’t enough incentive however, tomatoes are also great sources of many vitamins and minerals. These include vitamin C (of which a single tomato will provide 40% of your RDA), vitamin A, potassium and iron. This gives you a whole host of other health benefits including an improved immune system to help protect against a variety of viruses and infections, a healthy heart, improved vision in low light, healthy skin and fewer muscle cramps. The iron content is also important for healthy haemoglobin to carry the oxygen around the body and getting a lot in your diet is especially crucial for women who are menstruating as they can lose a lot of it in their menstrual flow. To check for a low iron content try examining the inside of your lower eyelid – the paler the colour the more likely you are to have a deficiency.
In conclusion then, our humble friends the organic tomato plants are actually nothing short of miraculous and are as healthy for us as they are for the environment.
Posted in Good Environment | 
Tags: Bright Colours, Critters, Fruits And Vegetables, Fruits Vegetables, Genetic Code, Health Benefits, Insects, Seeds