The botanists call it a fruit—the U.S. Supreme Court calls it a vegetable.

Whether fruit or vegetable, you can always find some of these dynamos in my refrigerator.

No matter what you call it, this product of nature packs a powerful punch when it comes to nutrition. Loaded with antioxidants, phytonutrients, and a host of other vitamins and minerals. With less than ten percent of its calories from fat, it also contains a little protein along with a healthy dose of the health-promoting carbohydrates.

And along with thousands of other whole plants, the terrific tomato is being used to reverse heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. So why are they trying to change it? Because there’s a consortium of scientists from 14 countries that think they can make it better. The New York Times reported earlier this week (See link below) that those scientists had decoded the full genome of the tomato—finding that it possesses almost 32,000 genes—far more than humans. From the article:

A consortium of plant geneticists from 14 countries has spent nine years decoding the tomato genome in the hope of breeding better ones. The scientists sequenced the genomes of both Heinz 1706, a variety used to make ketchup, and the tomato’s closest wild relative, Solanum pimpinellifolium, which lives in the highlands of Peru, where the tomato’s ancestors originated. Their results were published online Wednesday in the journal Nature.

My question is this? Why are so many people spending so much money to try to improve on a product that is working so well already? And why are so few scientists producing studies aimed at better understanding how whole plants protect us against cancer, heart disease and a host of other chronic diseases?

MONEY. The answer all boils down to money, which is why our schools of nutrition are controlled by the food industry and our schools of medicine by the pharmaceutical industry. Then, there’s the head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Francis Collins, who sees the future of health care in the realm of the complex human genome—rather than the simple world of leveraging current nutritional knowledge to lower our cost of health care by some $2 trillion.

Looking for clarity over confusion, read the works of Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr. — Bill Clinton did and it probably saved his life.

Why are more of our scientists and medical doctors not talking about the miracle of reversing heart disease with current information? Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic has a near 100% success rate in reversing our nation’s number one killer and he’s simply using whole plants that are available today—including the terrific tomato.

Amazing stuff to be sure—but not deemed worthy of much ink in the New York Times or the evening news of any of the major networks. Meanwhile, we’re spending our time and money and featuring news stories about an obscure project involving tomato genetics. Maybe improving that tomato could be a good thing—-but is it more important than sharing life-saving information with billions of people every day? That is the question. Back to the article; the beat goes on…

Plant breeders have had more success breeding tomatoes with features of interest to producers, like long shelf life, than with the traits that matter to consumers, like taste and quality, Dr. Giovannoni said. The tomato genome sequence may help redress the balance, since plant breeders can now rely on DNA as well as physical traits to govern their breeding programs, he said.

For your convenience, I have provided a link to the full NY Times article along with a link to several of my disease-reversing blogs promoting current knowledge:

• My blog about heart disease: “Toothless Paper Tiger” — Heart Disease
• Dr. John McDougall on cancer: CANCER — “It’s the FOOD” says Dr. John McDougall
• The New York Times Article:  The Tomato – Ripe, Juicy and Bursting With Genes

The bottom line. While our scientists are studying 32,000 genes in the tomato looking for answers, the good news is that you can take charge of your health today. I wonder how many of those scientists are eating anywhere near the 4Leaf level. My guess is that most of them are eating the toxic western diet—three meals a day.

Handy 3-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

• The movie that’s changing the lives of millions: Forks Over Knives DVD 
• Our book: Healthy Eating, Healthy World by yours truly & son
• An essential nutrition resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Diagnostic Survey. It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4Leaf page or some great recipes at Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

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Blogging daily at hpjmh.com…from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation