Enjoy diced tomatoes raw on top of your salad or saute a handful with your favorite pasta dish. Diced tomatoes are naturally low in calories and have an assortment of nutrients to keep you healthy. Tomatoes provide lots of fiber to keep you satisfied and antioxidants to help prevent illness.
The high fiber content of tomatoes helps improve satiety. High-fiber foods, like diced tomatoes, require extra chewing time. While you spend more time chewing, you are giving your stomach time to signal to your brain that it is full. You'll be less likely to eat too quickly or consume too much. Fiber from diced tomatoes does not break down once it hits your small intestine. It keeps its bulky form, which forces food to sit in your stomach for a longer period of time. This effect keeps you satisfied for a while, so you won't feel the need to snack later in the day. Help curb your hunger by consuming the recommended 14 grams of fiber per every 1,000 calories in your diet, reports the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010. Following a 2,000-calorie diet requires 28 grams of fiber each day. One 1/2-cup serving of diced tomatoes provides about 1.5 grams of fiber.
Tomatoes contain potassium, a mineral that stabilizes fluid in and around cells. Normal fluid balance is essential for heart rhythm, nerve communication and muscle movements. You need 4,700 milligrams of potassium each day, the Linus Pauling Institute reports. A 1/2-cup serving of diced tomatoes provides about 275 milligrams of the mineral.
The high vitamin C content of tomatoes protects your body. Vitamin C modulates immune response, meaning it signals your immune system to attack foreign invaders. This vitamin also neutralizes free radicals while working as an antioxidant. Free radicals damage healthy cells, increasing your risk of cancer, heart disease and other chronic conditions. Vitamin C wards off damaging free radicals, reducing your risk of illness. Keep your body healthy by getting the recommended amount of vitamin C each day. Women need 75 milligrams, while men require 90 milligrams, says the Office of Dietary Supplements. You get more than 15 milligrams of vitamin C in a `1/2-cup serving of diced tomatoes.
Diced tomatoes can help protect your eyes and vision because they are rich in vitamin A. This vitamin is a component of rhodopsin, a protein that absorbs light in your retina. One warning sign of vitamin A deficiency may be night blindness, which is the inability to see when light is not available. Vitamin A supports normal functioning of the cornea and membranes surrounding your eyes. Women need 700 micrograms of daily vitamin A and men require 900 micrograms, the Office of Dietary Supplements reports. A 1/2-cup serving of diced tomatoes adds nearly 50 micrograms of vitamin A to your diet.
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