Tomato ketchups are known to have high salt and sugar content. This has given them somewhat of a bad reputation, which is precisely the reason ketchups are shunned by a lot of health-conscious people. However, surprisingly as it may sound, studies have shown that a bit of ketchup, despite its bad reputation, offers some unexpected health benefits.

Here we list a few important uses and health benefits of tomato ketchup.

Ketchup cuts down risk of prostate cancer

An American study conducted in 2002 on around 45,000 men threw up some interesting data. It revealed that eating tomato ketchup two or more times a week cuts down a person’s risk of developing prostate cancer by as much as 20%. It is believed that the compound lycopene, an antioxidant found in tomatoes has cancer fighting properties.

Known to increase sperm count

Tomato is a rich source of compound lycopene, which is known to possess strong antioxidant properties. Lycopene apart from having cancer fighting properties is also known to boost male fertility by increasing the count and flow of sperm. The antioxidant properties of lycopene could augment sperm count by up to 70 percent, a study has found.

Ketchup can cut cholesterol

Finnish researchers published a report in which they claimed that tomato ketchup can cut low-density lipoprotein, otherwise known as ‘bad cholesterol’. Volunteers who added ketchup to their meals three times a day witnessed their cholesterol level fall by over 5% in seven weeks, and their low-density lipoprotein levels decline by over 12 per cent.

Ketchup can help your eyesight

Ketchup contains higher level of vitamin C as well as low fat content. More importantly, ketchup has good amount of vitamin A, which is known for strengthening the immune system as well as the eyesight.

Apart from the above-mentioned health benefits, an important use of tomato ketchup is that it enhances the taste of food that you eat with ketchup, and even makes bland food bearable. It is well-known fact that ketchup contains higher amount of sugar and salt, which means it is not the healthiest food around, despite few documented benefits.

Apart from being a staple item with things like burgers, hotdogs, samosas, and tikkis, ketchup also acts as a condiment masking the taste of a lot of food items, which otherwise could be hard to swallow. This is another important usage of the ubiquitous ketchup.