Tomatoes slash risk of several diseases

Tomatoes are widely available, cost-effective, and people of all ages and cultures like them. Now, a review research has shown that eating more tomatoes and tomato products could make people healthier and slash their risk of developing killer diseases such as cancer, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.
Researchers Britt Burton-Freeman and Kristin Reimers of the National Centre for Food Safety and Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology and ConAgra Foods, Inc., looked at the current research to discover the roletomato products play in health and disease risk reduction. They found that tomatoes are the biggest source of powerful antioxidant lycopene.
Unlike nutrients in most fresh fruits and vegetables, lycopene has even greater potency after cooking and processing. Tomatoes also contain other protective mechanisms, such as anti-thrombotic and anti-inflammatoryfunctions.
The researchers also found a link between eating tomatoes and a lower risk of certain cancers as well as other conditions, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, ultraviolet light–induced skin damage, and even cognitive dysfunction. “Leveraging emerging science about tomatoes and tomato products may be one simple and effective strategy to help individuals increase vegetable intake, leading to improved overall eating patterns, and ultimately, better health,” said the authors. “Research underscores the relationship between consuming tomatoes and reduced risk of cancer, heart disease,and other conditions,” they said.
“The evidence also suggests that consumption of tomatoes should be recommended because of the nutritional benefits and because it may be a simple and effective strategy for increasing overall vegetable intake,” they concluded
Overhead bridge at Choohar Chowk demanded : Lack of overhead bridge is increasing traffic mess while crossing the chowk has become akin to inviting death call.
This chowk is thickly populated and is hub of commercial activities. This is located at the juncture of various routes. One goes to Pir Wadhai, other to motor way and this way it becomes flooded with wagons, buses and other vehicles.
The traffic mess continues round the clock as the buses and vehicular traffic bound for motor way knows no break. Amid such tsunami of traffic, we can not cross the road and on the other hand no fly over is built over the chowk. We are left at the mercy of drivers of over speeding vehicles, said scores of residents of area. “Our school is located on the other side of the road and we have to wait for hours to cross it. We never see any let up in traffic flow any time. This way it takes sometime hour to stand on road side and wait for any opportunity to go over to the other side, said Farkhinda Jabeen, a school girl.
“I am a poor person and owner of a hand driven cart. I sell fruit while standing near by the gates of schools situated in the area to the other side of Chohar Chowk. I often miss my daily earning due to my late arrival there because of my inability to cross the road in screaming traffic”, said Baba Muhammad Hussain.
Residents of the area have demanded of concerned authorities to take measures for early erection of fly over at Choohar Chowk.
Rahmatabad lacks basic
facilities: Thousands of residents of Rahmatabad are deprived of basic facilities due to the negligence of the city administration and TMA officials.
Scattered mounds of filth, lack of cleanliness, poor sewrage system, blocked gutters, uncarpeted streets and roads, shortage of water and lack of water filtration plants have made the lives of that area miserable, the residents complained. Few of streets were cemented by the administration, but there is no drainage system at all, a little amount of downpour is enough to fill the area with water. The Town administration is taking Rs30 monthly from every house in the name of providing cleanliness, but the condition of the area is getting worst day-by-day. The residents said they have been getting contaminated water as sewage is mixing with drinking water because of outdated pipelines causing different diseases like hepatitis A B and C and other stomach diseases among children and adults.
Locals said, “We have lodged a number of complaints with the TMA officials for repairing of sewage system and providing of water filtration plants, but to no avail.” Residents demanded of the authorities to handle the situation strictly and direct the concerned officials to solve their problems and ensure supply of clean drinking water.