The benefits of eating tomatoes
A recent review of scientific
literature strengthened the evidence that
eating tomatoes and natural tomato-based
products can provide powerful protection
against many kinds of cancer. Dr. Edward
Giovannucci, a leading cancer researcher at
the ‘Harvard
Medical School’, came to
this conclusion after analyzing a total of
72 studies on the health benefits of
tomatoes.
"The antioxidant properties
of lycopene, a carotenoid found primarily in
tomatoes, have raised interest in the tomato
as a food with potential anti-cancer
properties," says Dr. Giovannucci, whose
research review appeared in the February 17,
1999, issue of the Journal of the
National
Cancer Institute.
57 of these studies presented
convincing evidence of a relationship
between tomato consumption, blood lycopene
level and the risk of cancer after they
examined the dietary differences between
people with, and people without cancer. The
results were strongest for cancers of the
prostate gland, lung and stomach, but also
extended to several other kinds, including
breast, pancreatic, colorectal, oesophageal,
oral and cervical cancers. According to Dr.
Giovannucci, the same results were observed
whether the diets contained fresh or
processed tomatoes.
It is now thought ‘lycopene’
not only neutralizes harmful free radicals
that can damage cells and trigger cancer but
that cancer protection is most likely to
come from a complex interaction between
lycopene and other phytochemicals and
nutrients exclusively present in tomatoes.
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