Tomato (Tamatar) Juice: Uses, Benefits, Side Effects By Dr. Smita Barode

Introduction

After a long morning walk or heavy workout, you need to restore your energy. So, what’s better than a glass of tomato juice? Apart from being a good energy drink, it may be just what you need to rejuvenate your health. Tomato juice is packed with antioxidants, vitamins and essential nutrients that might help to kick start your day. ¹ 

Tomato (Tamatar) is scientifically called Solanum lycopersicum and it is a member of the Nightshade family Solanaceae. Tomato fruits are native to South America and are now grown in Central and South Asian countries too because of their high demand. Tomatoes are loved and enjoyed by people of all ages, and are also commonly known as love apples.^1,2 

Read to know how this tangy sweet red juice might be loaded with potential health benefits.

Nutritional Value of Tomato Juice

The most common uses of tomato juice are as an energy drink or sports drink. It helps rejuvenate your body from an intense workout because of its high water and mineral content. Tomato juice is a high source of proteins, fibre, carbohydrates, vitamins and essential minerals like potassium, phosphorous, etc., which are vital components to keep you fit.^1,2  Nutritional Value of Tomato juice per 100 g described below-

• Energy: 17 kcal
• Carbohydrate: 3.53 g
• Sugar: 2.58 g
• Protein: 0.85 g
• Fats: 0.29 g
• Fibre: 0.4 g
• Sodium: 2.53 mg
• Potassium: 217 mg
• Magnesium: 11 mg
• Phosphorus: 19 mg
• Calcium: 10 mg
• Iron: 0.39 mg
• Zinc: 0.11 mg
• Selenium: 0.5 µg
• Copper: 0.042 mg
• Vitamin K: 2.3 µg
• Vitamin E: 0.32 mg
• Carotene: 270 µg
• Vitamin A: 23 µg
• Vitamin B-6: 0.07 mg
• Folate (Vitamin B-9): 20 µg
• Vitamin C: 70.1 mg
• Thiamine (Vitamin B-1): 0.1 mg
• Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2): 0.078 mg
• Niacin (Vitamin B-3): 0.673 mg

Also Read: Neem Juice: Uses, Benefits, Side effects and More!

From my knowledge, tomatoes may be beneficial for those who have asthma and may help avoid emphysema, a disorder that gradually affects the air sacs in your lungs. That might be because antioxidants like lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin work to combat the toxic components in cigarette smoke, which is believed to be the main cause of emphysema.

Dr. Smita Barode, B.A.M.S M.S.

Properties of Tomato Juice

Tomato juice is loaded with potential health benefits for your body. It is a versatile fruit due to its numerous bioactive compounds which may contribute to specific biological properties.¹ 

• It may have antioxidant activity  
• It may have anti-inflammatory properties  
• It may have a cholesterol-lowering effect  
• It may have a blood pressure-lowering effect  
• It may have a blood sugar lowering effect  
• It may have an anti-obesity effect (may help reduce weight)  
• It may have antifungal activity  
• It may have an anti-carcinogenic effect (may reduce cancer cell growth)  
• It may have an anti-mutagenic effect (may stop mutation in a cell)  
• It may have antiplatelet activity (may stop blood clots).^1,2  

Also Read: Tender Coconut Water: Uses, Benefits, Side Effects By Dr. Siddharth Gupta

Potential Uses of Tomato Juice

Tomato juice may have potential uses for various health conditions; some of these are described as follows: 

1. Potential uses of tomato juice for bones  

Tomato juice contains vitamin K and calcium, which might be useful for bone strengthening. They might help perform minor repairs on bone and bone tissue. Drinking tomato juice may provide a good amount of the daily requirement of vitamin K. Vitamin K has the ability to activate osteocalcin, which is a major non-collagen protein in bone. Osteocalcin helps mineralise calcium molecules inside the bones.¹ Hence, tomato juice might help keep a check on your bone density. 

However, this information is insufficient and requires more human studies to suggest the benefits of drinking tomato juice for bone health. 

2. Potential uses of tomato juice for skin    

Tomato juice might be an excellent drink for rapid skin cell repair. It contains high levels of lycopene antioxidant, which works as a natural sunscreen and fights against harmful UV light. You might replace those pricy facial cleansers with a bowl of potent tomato juice. You may use tomato juice for glowing skin. It might clean your face and make it shiny. If you see facial redness, do not worry; it fades away in a few minutes.¹  

However, this information is not sufficient for us and we require more human studies to determine the potential of tomato juice for glowing skin. Therefore, before using it on your skin, consult with your doctors. 

3. Potential uses of tomato juice for heart  

Tomato juice is rich in vitamins and nutrients such as potassium, necessary for heart functioning. Tomato juice is free of cholesterol and contains vitamin B-3 may be effective and safe for reducing cholesterol levels in the body. Potassium decreases blood pressure, reducing the chances of heart stroke and heart attack. Vitamin B-6 and B-9 may help convert the dangerous chemicals (homocysteine) in the body. So, adding tomato or tomato juice to your regular diet may decrease the chances of developing heart-related life-threatening conditions.¹ 

However, this data is insufficient and require large-scale human studies to produce the success of tomato juice for heart health. Therefore, if you are suffering from heart disease, take medical advice and only use it if recommended by your doctors. 

4. Other Potential uses of tomato (Tamatar) juice:  

• Tomato juice may have a detoxification effect on the body. It contains chlorine and sulfur, which might stimulate the activity of the liver and increase its functioning for filtering and detoxifying body wastes.¹ 
• The vitamins in tomato juice, especially vitamin C might be used for healing sunburn.¹  
• Tomato juice might be a good energy drink for the rejuvenating body. It may boost the health of patients on dialysis.¹ 
• It may also be a sports drink to restore your body from fatigue (tiredness) and sleepiness.¹ 
• Tomato juice contains lycopene and vitamin E, which might reduce the formation of ”bad cholesterol” in the body.¹ 
• Drinking tomato juice might help avoid colds and flu and boost the immunity of the body.¹ 
• The health benefits of tomato juice might help reduce the damage done to your body by smoking. Tomato juice contains chlorogenic acid and coumaric acid that fight the carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) in the body produced while smoking cigarettes.¹ 

Though studies show the benefits of tomato juice in various conditions, these are insufficient, and there is a need for further studies to develop the true scope of the benefits of tomato juice on human health. In addition, each person may respond differently to different herbs. Therefore, it is essential to consult a physician before using tomato juice for any medical condition.  

Also Read: Spinach Juice: Uses, Benefits, Side Effects By Dr. Smita Barode

How to Use Tomato Juice?

Tomato juice uses are as follows: 

• Tomato juice can be used as a refreshing energy drink. 
• It can be used as a detox drink. 
• It can be used to prepare tomato sauce, soups and ketchup or as a base gravy for many curries.¹ 

People must consult an Ayurvedic physician before drinking tomato juice every day. Further, we advise you not to replace or discontinue your ongoing medicines with any ayurvedic or herbal preparations of tomato juice without taking the medical advice of a doctor. They will guide you with the correct form and dosage per your health condition. 

High lycopene concentrations might not be appropriate for people with low blood pressure, patients who have stomach ulcers, ladies who are expecting or nursing, individuals who are taking medicine for cancer, heart disease, or skin disorders and patients undergoing hormone therapy. To be sure lycopene is healthy for you and won’t react with any drugs you take, I recommend one should consult their doctor before making dietary changes.

Dr. Rajeev Singh, BAMS

Side Effects of Tomato Juice

Tomatoes (Tamatar) are safe to eat.² However, drinking excess tomato juice may cause a few side effects. 

• Tomato juice contains a high amount of potassium and excess consumption might increase the levels of potassium in the serum leading to dangerous complications.⁴ 
• A report (Jones. 2004) found that excess intake of tomato juice caused an uncommon risk of developing severe hyperkalaemia (a condition in which serum potassium levels cross the limit), which resulted in kidney insufficiency (poor functioning).⁴ 
• Tomato juice may cause oral allergy syndrome. A case report (Kawamoto et al. 2003) found that drinking tomato juice caused swelling of the mouth and nasal mucosa and inflammation in the eyes.⁵  

However, if you have kidney problems, limit your tomato juice intake. We recommend you avoid excess consumption of tomato juice. If you experience one of these rare allergic reactions, immediately rush to the hospital and get appropriate treatment for your allergies.  

There are no recognised upper limits that are advised for the consumption of lycopene because of its highly safety limit. On the other hand, in my experience, very high lycopene intake may occasionally result in very mild skin darkening. According to one case study, a lady who drank roughly 2 litres of tomato juice every day for several years noticed that her complexion had taken on an orange colour. The good news is that such changes are temporary. In a few weeks after cutting back on lycopene, the woman’s natural skin colour appeared.

Dr. Siddharth Gupta, B.A.M.S M.D (Ayu)

Precautions to Take with Tomato Juice

Drinking tomato juice in moderation is safe. However, general precautions should be followed. 

• People facing kidney-related problems should limit their intake of tomato juice. It might cause severe hyperkalaemia.⁴  
• People who have allergy to tomatoes should avoid drinking tomato juice.⁵  
• No major report suggests the safe use of tomato juice for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Therefore, you should consult with your doctors before having it.  
• Tomato juice must be given with caution to small children and older people because their immune system is weak and they might develop allergic reactions in the body.    
• It is important to consult a doctor before using tomato juice as a herb. In addition, it should not be used to self-medicate on your own.  

Also Read: Guava Juice: Uses, Benefits, Side Effects By Dr. Smita Barode

Interaction with other Drugs

There is no scientific evidence of the interaction between tomato juice and drugs. However, people should not assume that there are no interactions.  

Therefore, people should consult an Ayurvedic physician. They will direct you to the better way to have tomato juice for its potential health benefits. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

References:

1. Debjit Bhowmik, Sampath Kumar, Shravan Paswan, Shweta Srivastava. Tomato-A Natural Medicine and Its Health Benefits. J of Pharmacog and Phytochem. 2012;1(1):33–43. Available from: https://www.phytojournal.com/archives/2012/vol1issue1/PartA/3.pdf 

2. Waheed K, Nawaz H, Hanif M, Rehman R. Tomato [Internet]. Muhammad Hanif, Haq Nawaz, Muhammad Khan, Hugh Byrne, editors. Medicinal Plants of South Asia: Novel Sources for Drug Discovery. Elsevier; 2020. 631–644 p. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978008102659500046X 

3. U.S. Department of Agriculture [Internet]. FoodData Central Tomato juice, 100%. 2020 [cited 2022 Jul 21]. Available from: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/1103285/nutrients 

4. Jones S. Severe hyperkalemia related to excessive tomato juice ingestion in presence of neobladder. The J of Urology. 2004;171(1):353. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14665924/ 

5. Kawamoto H. A case of tomato juice-induced oral allergy syndrome in which dyspnea onset occurred during the season of Japanese cedar pollen dispersion. 2003;41(6):397–401. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12833845/ 

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