| It would seem that very soon the old adage of | | | | States. |
| “An apple a day will keep the doctor | | | | With such supportive research as a backbone, it |
| away” can be replaced with the common | | | | indeed seems a good reason to change the |
| tomato. Why? Tomatoes are rich in a powerful | | | | slogan. Do your family members have a history |
| antioxidant called lycopene. Antioxidants are | | | | of prostate cancer or heart disease? Then |
| extremely important because they prevent and | | | | perhaps it is time to take a good look at your |
| even repair damaged cells in your body. There | | | | diet and incorporate foods that are rich in |
| have been recent studies that have convincing | | | | antioxidants such as lycopene. |
| results that lycopene also can prevent prostate | | | | Although lycopene is most prevalent in tomatoes, |
| cancer and heart disease. One such study, | | | | it can also be found in rosehip, guava, pink |
| conducted by the University of North Carolina, | | | | grapefruit and watermelon. However, the tomato |
| compared the fat samples of 1,379 men who had | | | | is the most common source but only in certain |
| suffered from heart attacks with those of | | | | forms. For example, a plain tomato fresh off the |
| healthy men. This study concluded that those | | | | vine has very little actual lycopene per serving |
| men with high levels of lycopene were half as | | | | (only approximately 8mg). The process of cooking |
| likely to have a heart attack as those with lower | | | | a tomato and subsequently raising its temperature |
| levels. Another Harvard study of over 47,000 | | | | actually makes the lycopene easier to absorb into |
| men found that as levels of lycopene in their | | | | your liver, lungs, prostate gland and skin. The |
| blood stream rose, their risks of prostate cancer | | | | most efficient absorption rates come from |
| were considerably reduced. Preliminary research | | | | drinking tomato juice at 22.9mg per serving with |
| has also suggested that lycopene may be linked | | | | a close second found in spaghetti sauce at 20mg |
| to preventing macular degenerative disease which | | | | per serving. |
| strikes nearly 1.75 million people in the United | | | | |