The Eternal Tomato Issue (Wrong Categorisation)

[Edaryion]

Hi! As Dr. Michael Greger himself stated, Tomatoes are not vegetables but fruits. And yet, they are categorised as 'Other Fruits' in the Daily Dozen app. This is an issue. Here is why:

If I eat one carrot & one tomato, to fulfil my daily dozen for 'Other Vegetables', & eat an apple, a banana & an orange to fulfil 'Other Fruits', should this not mean that I have actually not fulfilled 'Other Vegetables', but actually ate four fruits instead of three.

I suggest that the tomatoes are moved into the 'Other Fruits' category. It is contradictory to the information on the website, & due to the aforementioned issue above.

Whilst it is true that the categorisation of tomatoes as a vegetable is common knowledge, as most, if not all of you are aware, what is common, or normal, does not necessarily mean good or correct.

[k4rtik]

You are probably suggesting tomatoes to be moved to 'Other Vegetables' category, not fruits, right? From his book:

[Edaryion]

You are probably suggesting tomatoes to be moved to 'Other Vegetables' category, not fruits, right? From his book:

😁 Interesting contradiction. So, Dr. Greger said himself that he categorises tomatoes as vegetables because that is what other people do, even though it is technically not a vegetable, but a fruit. Though this may have been after he published his three books, so I do not know if he mentioned that information there. I am in the process of reading all three of them.

So, I do really mean what I have typed, it is not an error. (Tomatoes are already in 'Other Vegetables').

[k4rtik]

It was confusing because you wrote in the OP:

And yet, they are categorised as 'Other Fruits' in the Daily Dozen app.

Anyway, my vote is to stick to the common understanding and keep tomatoes under vegetables. These guidelines are meant for general public not scientists who will care so much about such a distinction. Moreover, Dr. Greger is counting it under veggies in his books and guidelines.

[Edaryion]

It was confusing because you wrote in the OP:

And yet, they are categorised as 'Other Fruits' in the Daily Dozen app.

Anyway, my vote is to stick to the common understanding and keep tomatoes under vegetables. These guidelines are meant for general public not scientists who will care so much about such a distinction. Moreover, Dr. Greger is counting it under veggies in his books and guidelines.

Ohhh, so sorry about that! A bad error on my part, thank you for correcting me with such patience. 😊

Anyway, I agree with the idea that it should be made appealing to the target audience, however, so long as it does not have consequences. The aforementioned example:

If I eat one carrot & one tomato, to fulfil my daily dozen for 'Other Vegetables', & eat an apple, a banana & an orange to fulfil 'Other Fruits', should this not mean that I have actually not fulfilled 'Other Vegetables', but actually ate four fruits instead of three.

This would mean that I, or, the user, would eat only one 'Other Vegetable', rather than the minimum of two. To my limited knowledge, I understand that these categories are not simply a pointless labels, but are made to group whole-foods with different nutritional values. So, with that in mind, I still think it should be categorised as a fruit.

You have mentioned twice that in, at least one of his books, he refers to tomatoes as a vegetable. It could be that he did not know the difference or have the data at the time. I do believe I have heard him speak in a video that it is a fruit, rather than a vegetable. Funny enough, it is how I found that out myself.

In the end, I think it should be up to him, whether to change it or not, as he is the most education on this topic. Perhaps I am wrong & there is no nutritional difference & the grouping is pointless. I do not think so, I feel it is unlikely, albeit there is still much for me to learn about this topic.