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The small round tomato has caused quite a stir in the last few years, winning prizes for its outstanding flavour in Italian cuisine and accolades in disease prevention. The brilliant red tomato credits its powerful disease protection to its scarlet pigment called lycopene. Although the tomato is well known for its ability to fight prostate cancer, strong evidence indicates that lycopene protects against lung and stomach cancers and preliminary research shows protection against pancreatic, colourectal, esophageal, oral, breast and cervical cancers. This potent antioxidant protects against many cancers by acting as a free radical scavenger throughout the body. Lycopene also protects the heart against oxidative damage, therefore reducing risk of heart attacks. In addition, lycopene may help to preserve vision and reduce glaucoma and presbyopia, two eye diseases that develop as we age. Preliminary research also indicates that lycopene is ‘unique’ in its ability to fight the signs of aging including frailty and preserve our quality of life. Besides lycopene, tomatoes contain a variety of other powerful phytochemicals that fight disease. The 3 Amigos, zera-carotene, phytoene, and phytofluene, are an antioxidant team that is found together in many fruits and veggies, including tomatoes. Although there is little research done on the 3 Amigos, scientists believe that this antioxidant team has strong disease fighting potential. And if that isn’t enough, phenolic acids found in tomatoes have the potential to fight lung cancer with its ability to inhibit the formation of nitrosamines in the body. Action Tip: Include a rich red tomato or tomato product at least twice a week but daily provides the best protection against disease. To load up on lycopene, choose vine-ripened tomatoes more often and tomatoes with deep rich red colour. Cooked tomato products, such as tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, catsup or tomato juice, offer more lycopene, as cooking increases its bioavailability. Adding a little fat to your tomato and tomato products increases the absorption of lycopene because it dissolves in fat. Add tomatoes to salads, enjoy a glass of tomato juice, top pizza, pasta and legumes with vegetable laden tomato sauce or add tomatoes to stir-fries, casseroles, stews and soups. |
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