SuperFoods Rx by Steven G. Pratt

Author:Steven G. Pratt [Steven G. Pratt and Kathy Matthews]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780061801754
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2004-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

There are two new carotenoids on the scene with promising health benefits: phytoene and phytofluene are both found in tomatoes and tomato products. Phytoene has been shown to possess antioxidant capabilities and also anticarcinogenic action. More study needs to be done, but preliminary work indicates that they play a role in tomatoes’ ability to combat cancer and other diseases.

The Power of Red

Lycopene, a member of the carotenoid family and a pigment that contributes to the red color of tomatoes, is a major contributor to their health-promoting power. Lycopene has demonstrated a range of unique and distinct biological properties that have intrigued scientists. Some researchers have come to believe that lycopene could be as powerful an antioxidant as beta-carotene. We do know that lycopene is the most efficient quencher of the free-radical singlet oxygen, a particularly deleterious form of oxygen, and lycopene is also capable of scavenging a large number of free radicals.

Lycopene is a nutrient whose time in the spotlight has come. It’s been the subject of great interest lately as more and more researchers have focused on the particular power of this nutrient. The attention began in the 1980s when studies started to reveal that people who ate large amounts of tomatoes were far less likely to die from all forms of cancer compared with those who ate little or no tomatoes. Many other studies echoed the positive findings about the effect of eating tomatoes.

It’s not only cancer that the lycopene in tomatoes helps mitigate. Lycopene is an important part of the antioxidant defense network in the skin, and dietary lycopene by itself or in combination with other nutrients can raise the sun protection factor (SPF) of the skin. In other words, by eating tomatoes (in this case, cooked or processed tomatoes) you’re enhancing your skin’s ability to withstand the assault from the damaging rays of the sun. It acts like an internal sunblock!

Lycopene may also indirectly lower the risk for age-related macular degeneration by “sparing” lutein oxidation so that lutein can be transported to the macula in its unoxidized, protective form.

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