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Locally grown tomatoes are abundant at farmers markets like the one on Prince Edward Street in Fredericksburg. FILE/THE FREE LANCE-STAR Visit the Photo Place

No need to fear locally grown tomatoes

Rediscover the delight of a locally grown, ripe tomato

Date published: 7/20/2008

IHOPE the recent salmonella scare linked to tomatoes grown in Florida and Mexico doesn't cause people to give up summer's juiciest vegetable, but instead prompts them to search out roadside stands and farmers markets.

Local tomatoes are not only safe, they usually taste fresh and juicy. Instead of being picked green and shipped cross-country, local tomatoes are plucked from the vine at their ripest.

Use common sense and wash tomatoes before eating them. Then enjoy them.

Tomatoes are a beauty and health cocktail--not only do they protect the skin, but they protect your heart and may reduce cancer risks as well.

TOMATO TREATMENT

A German study showed that people who ate tomatoes regularly for 10 weeks were slower to get sunburn. While not a substitute for sunblock, tomatoes do offer some protection.

Tomatoes can also help protect the heart, though they shouldn't replace heart medications.

Tomato products can reduce cholesterol levels, according to a Finnish study.

Finnish people who drank 14 ounces of tomato juice and ate 1 ounce of ketchup daily with their foods for three weeks saw their cholesterol drop by 6 percent. So-called "bad" or LDL cholesterol dropped 13 percent.

An Israeli study found that people who ate 10 ounces of tomato products daily for a month increased the "good" HDL cholesterol by 15 percent.

Tomatoes also may reduce risks of cancers of the stomach, ovaries, pancreas and prostate, according to several American and international studies. However, more research is needed to show whether tomatoes do reduce cancer risks.

DIGESTING TOMATOES

"I like tomatoes, but they don't like me," my grandmother used to say. I think she meant the acidity bothered her.

But some tomatoes are milder than others. Ripe tomatoes are less acidic than unripe green tomatoes. In fact, people who make homemade tomato sauce and "can" it in glass jars are advised to add more acid, such as lemon juice or vinegar, if they use overripe tomatoes. That's because natural acids preserve canned goods from spoilage.

Many folks say that light-colored heirloom tomatoes, which come in white, gold and orange hues, are less acidic and therefore cause less heartburn than red tomatoes. Other sources argue that paler tomatoes don't have less acid, just more natural sugar that disguises the taste of the acid.

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Date published: 7/20/2008