THE VALUABLE TOMATO.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 17 March 1927, Page 3

THE VALUABLE TOMATO.

A WHOLESOME FOOD. Sir Arbuthnot Lane, Bart., CB., writing in the London Daily Mail, pars:— I have often been asked to supplement the general advice on diet by further details of a practical nature on the several natural foods such as fruits and vegetables. - Dr. Willimott has therefore prepared accounts which will be of great practical value of about a dozen of the most important articles of food. By Dr. S. G. Willimott, D.Sc, the research scientist who is associated with Prof,. Sir P. Cowhand Hopkins in his work at Cambridge

University. It is probable that the, tonvito is the most valuable of the home grown fruits. At first it wa-? extensively grown as a decorative plant, but the realisation of its value as an articl. of focd has been comparatively recent in England. The cultivaticn of the tomato under glass has developed so rapid'.y that it v.ow constitutes an important industry of its own. Chemical analysis alone afford.* lit tie clue to the real" food value of the. tomato. It is richest in carbohydrates, but like most fruits and vegetal les is unimportant as a source of fat or of the flesh-forming constituent called p"o----tein. Its fuel value is low. Whv. then, is the toma'.o *o imic-1, esteemed? The answer lies in its hi-ch content of the vitamins. In its stor.' of vitamin 3—which wards off seurvy —it is the rival of the orange and has. in fact, been used successfully as a

cheap alternative to orange juice in infant feeding. It has also been established that by the application of proper methods of processing- tomatoes may be ermne 1 apparently -.vith little destruction or' their anti-scorbutic value. The consumption of the raw fruit is always pounder, but in special circumstances such preparations have their uses. In addition to vitamin C, tomatoes also contain considerable amounts or vitamins A and B, which fortify the total vitamins in the diet. The Cancer Fallacy.

The belief that tomatoes contain oxalic acid is incorrect, the chief aci 1 present being citric acid, a natur, i constituent of fruits. The flavour of the fruit is due to its sharp volatile oil. Small amounts of certain minerals are also present. The idea, once pop'.' lar, that the consumption of tomatoes is liable to cause cancer is without scientific justification, and is, perhaps, an illustration cf how wide of the miirk popular opinion on food and nutrition can sometimes be. To the housewife the tomato, is estimable as a salad material in the mv: state, or for the flavour it impart* when fried in. soups and sauces, bin it is in the raw, untampered state t.iat it does most good,. Here we may we., follow the practice of our Continental friends, who consume considerably moriaw salad than is customary with us to their great advantage in health ami happiness. ~ Raw tomatoes as an ingredient it <*reen salads are a cheap, concentrated source of the principal vitamins w-Ji-in the reach of all.