Are Canned Tomatoes Bad for You?

The world has changed paces today. And how. With the fast paced lifestyle that we have all become accustomed to nowadays, it wasn't long before things all around us would change. Enter the canned foods. It came about as an easy solution and just stayed. First with seasonal products that we could continue to enjoy all year round because they were made easily available in cans, and slowly even the basic ingredients that we consume in everyday life like tomatoes for instance. Why? Simply 'cause it's convenient. Someone pressed for time can simply open a can of tomatoes, add it to your dish and voila! Dinner is ready in less than a minute! No sweat, no pain. But have you ever given a thought to whether these canned items are good for you? Canned tomatoes that we have so frequently started using - are they good for us? Let's find out.

Are Canned Tomatoes Bad to Eat?

It has been proven that canned tomatoes are indeed bad for health. Canning tomatoes has known to lead to several diseases and ailments. Let's review the same in the following section.

Adds to Toxicity
It has been proved that more than any other fruit or vegetable, tomatoes are the worst kind of product to be consumed, if they are stored in cans and tins. Tomatoes are very acidic to begin with. It is this acidity of the tomatoes that will cause the chemical that lines the can to permeate into the food. This chemical is known as bisphenol-A, or BPH. These cans contain about 50 mcg of toxic BPH, which can impact an adult severely, let alone a child. And thus when the chemicals permeate into the can, it leads to an increase in the toxicity of the tomatoes.

When these tomatoes, which have high levels of toxicity in them, are consumed, it will lead to various ailments. Some of these are as follows.

• Heart Diseases
• Diabetes
• Sperm Suppression
• Chromosomal Damage to female Eggs
• Other Complications

Aluminum Poisoning
When food is stored in an aluminum can, over time, it will gather some of the aluminum that it is stored in. This is more so in the case of tomatoes. Again, because of their high acidity. Once the aluminum that the can is made of, seeps into the tomatoes, it will contaminate the tomatoes and the water that they are stored in. This can lead to severe aluminum poisoning.

Washes Away Nutrients
Along with causing aluminum poisoning, it will also wash away all the nutrients from the food. Most of the time, one is expected to drain away the water that is present in the can, because most recipes do not need this water. And when one drains away the water that is present in the can (into which the nutrients have seeped), one automatically drains away all the nutrients as well. Therefore what we finally eat is nothing but food that has nothing to offer. It has no nutrients left in it and is hence an empty shell of its previous self. When in fact we should be having fresh foods that are filled with nutrients and phyto-chemicals, that are present in fresh foods.

The Solution

• The best solution to this query is that one should avoid canned tomatoes (and any other canned foods) as far as possible. In place of that, always buy fresh fruits and vegetables instead of opting for stored goods. This allows one to benefit maximally. This is because it keeps most of the nutrients intact and therefore is more healthy.
• If however, one needs to opt for stored tomatoes, then the next best choice is to always buy tomatoes and tomato based products that are stored in glass containers instead of tins and cans. Glass will not release any harmful products.

So are canned tomatoes bad for health? The answer is yes, they are, and as far as possible we must learn to avoid them. The best choice is to buy fresh tomatoes. And when fresh tomatoes are cooked with some oil, they release an antioxidant called lycopen that is highly beneficial for our bodies. So change your choices and don't open those can of tomatoes!