What is the impact of tomato on health? Tomato appears to be a universally accepted prime fruit-vegetable. Tomato is a source of various essential vitamins like vitamin A, Vitamin B (niacin), vitamin C, and vitamin K. Tomato also contains a fair amount of fiber, lycopene and folic acid; and is able to impact on human health significantly.

Tomato is used as a popular vegetable around the globe. Nutrient contents of tomato are worth mentioning. The tomato is full of Anti-oxidant properties and having high proportion of anti-oxidants Vitamins.  The characteristic features of nutrient contents of tomato are presented below:

Vitamin A: Tomato when used as vegetables could be a source of carotinoid vitamin A. This is useful to stabilize skin and eye health and to provide disease prevention capacity.

Anti-oxidant properties: Tomato contains anti-oxidant properties having a high proportion of vitamin A, Vitamin C and vitamin E as compared to other vegetables.

Vitamin K: Tomato is a good source of potassium. One cup of tomato juice contains about 534 mgs of potassium (The Daily Prothom Alo Desk). Potassium has impact on healthy and strong bones. Potassium can also helps against osteoporosis if taken at the early stage.

Vitamin C: Tomato is rich in vitamin C.  Vitamin C is considered as a strong weapon to create immunity and to fight against cold and associated illness.

Cholesterol:The niacin content in tomatoes is reported to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood. (to be considered along with appropriate diet plan).

Lycopene: The lycopene content of tomatoes helps to prevent prostate and pancreas cancers. The lycopene is able to reduce the occurrence of cancer of pancreas by about 32 %( The Daily Prothom Alo Desk). The lycopene content of tomatoes is also found to be helpful against certain age-related vision as well as cataracts problems.

Vitamin contents of tomatoes: One cup of tomatoes or 189 gms of tomatoes contains 38% vitamin C, 30% vitamin A, 18% vitamin K, 13% potassium and 10% manganese. Besides, there are vitamin E, iron and fibre in it (The Daily Prothom Alo Desk).

Caution before using tomato: Tomatoes contain a fair amount of potassium. So those who have kidney diseases should take due care and should not take too many tomatoes and  should consult relevant physicians regarding this issue.  It is also to be remembered that tomatoes also contain a   fair amount of sugar.

After all tomato has always been considered as an important and popular food item around the world due to the vitamin contents of tomato vis-a-vis the antioxidant properties to keep both mind and body refreshed.

Tea has become a popular and attractive drink around the globe.  The various characteristic features of tea and the properties of tea are described below. It is expected that the information contained in this post will be useful and interesting especially for the people who love to drink tea.

1. Use of milk in tea: Use of milk in tea does not affect the positive anti-oxidant actions of tea in the body function of human being. Various research findings indicate that milk when added to tea (up to 25%) does not have any impact on the influence of anti-oxidant contents present in the body but their impact is delayed.  The addition of milk to tea does not impact on the absorption of antioxidants but it increases the calorie content of tea as a result it can affect the tooth health.

2.    5 cup of tea a day: This is a concern for many people. An analysis indicated that taking 3 or more cup of tea a day is useful for heart function. After all, up to 8 cup of tea fall under the “limit of caffeine” taking.

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The demand for daily intake of calorie is declined as the people grow older day by day. The declining level of physical activity is a main factor behind this less calorie demand in old age. But the need for essential vitamins and minerals still persist. Besides, the loss of appetite or the reactions associated with intake of various medicines cause weakness, fatigue, tiredness, etc. Research indicates that the aged persons eat 40% less food as compared to their original requirements. Justifiably the aged people over 60 years of age deserve attention of all concerned about the old age food.

The Old age is associated with various old age health problems namely diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases, kidney diseases, etc. This situation demands specific food habit for old age. For example, the use of raw salt with rice should be given up; eating of salty foods should be avoided.

The people in old age face difficulties in eating hard food due to Loss of teeth or broken teeth or shaky teeth. In this situation, the liquid or semi liquid food as given to the old people should contain adequate proportion of all the essential nutrients and minerals.

The digestion as well as the metabolic capacity is declined as the people get older gradually. So it is better to select easily digestible food at this age. It is better to avoid fatty, spicy and too much fried food. Potato, fish, egg, etc. are easily digestible food. Constipation is also a common problem at old age. This can be minimized through regular intake of food having adequate fibre content, drinking of adequate and required water, mixure of Ispa-gula-husk, etc

The people at old age tend to suffer from loneliness, frustration, anxiety, and other related psychological problems which may cause loss of appetite in old age. These kinds of problems need to be addressed with the advice of appropriate physicians.

9 grams of protein is necessary for each 1 kg. Of person weight. Chicken soup, egg, milk and dairy products should be eaten to meet the demand of requirements of proteins in old age in case of any inability for the old person to take required amount of fish and meat. Vegetable soup and fruit juice should be ideal in case there is any digestion problem for eating raw vegetables and fruits. The milk or card should be included in the daily food list for old age as a source of calcium.

Some suitable food items for old-age persons include hotchpotch”, flattened rice with milk or card, soup, milk-bread, etc. The breakfast items may include custard with mixed fruits, etc.

The above analysis and discussions amply suggests that there is a significant correlation between old age and choices of food. This suggests that there is a strong necessity  to become more responsive to the needs and selection of  old age food.