In defence of the humble tomato

I want to put up something in defence of the poor much maligned tomato. Firstly, from my personal point of view, I eat them everyday, both au natural and cooked into stews, soups and sauces. And I am currently free of any psoriasis, while my psoriatic arthritis is under control, with no pain! Tomatoes are an especially important source of folic acid. They are an acid fruit. If you were having trouble with acid reflux, the addition of acid foods to your diet might have some impact, but eliminating tomatoes would not help to eliminate the cause of the reflux. That is part of the syndrome that impacts the gut, and seems, I believe, to be connected to irritable bowel syndrome. Many people do not actually realise that they suffer from this. I did not, until I returned from a working trip to China. This was one of 3 that lasted 2 months each. Upon my return I suffered from prolonged gut problems, which only began when I took up again my western diet which included gluten and dairy. I was then diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. I have also noted the reference to red foods in general. There is nothing wrong with red fruits. They are red because they are easily identified as ripe by birds and insects. And they are mostly red from polyphenols that are anti-inflammatory in the gut, just like the purple ones. Strawberries have the same chemical anthocyanines as blueberries. Oh, and while I am on the subject candida albans is a fungus (yeasts are a form of fungus), and one thing that universally kills fungi (you know how to remove mould from your bathroom) is acid. So surely eating an acid food like a tomato aught to increase the acidity of the stomach and perhaps the gut. Many foods are acidic, take citrus fruits and kiwi fruit for instance. So stop worrying about acidity in your food. The acid concentration of your stomach is about 0.5% hydrochloric acid. So your gut is made to handle acid. Try eliminating inflammation causing foods instead of the acid. And don't take antacids. They are a symptom relief that just stops you from dealing with the real problem. Not only do I love and eat tomatoes, but also the other members of the nightshade family, eggplants, chilies, capsicums and potatoes. All good on FODMAP. So on that much loved pizza, the cheese and the bread are the problem, whereas the tomato is good for you. wendyloish