The Health Benefits of Lycopene
Lycopene and your health
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First published: 14.Mar.2019
Overview
Lycopene is a chemical produced by certain plants (a carotenoid), that gives tomatoes, pink grapefruit, and papayas their typical pink and red color hues.
It is also a very potent antioxidant that withstands cooking without degrading, so it is found in high quantities in staple food such as processed tomato juice, ketchup, tomato soup, and tomato sauces.
There is strong scientific evidence suggesting that eating food containing lycopene can reduce the risk of certain cancers and improve cardiovascular health.
Below we will look into this evidence and the facts behind Lycopene's health benefits.
References and Further Reading
(1) Story, Erica N et al., (2010). An update on the health effects of tomato lycopene. Annual review of food science and technology vol. 1 (2010): 189-210
(2) Giovannucci E, Rimm EB, Liu Y, Stampfer MJ., and Willett WC., (2002). A prospective study of tomato products, lycopene, and prostate cancer risk. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2002 Mar 6;94(5):391-8
(3) Sahin K, et al., (2018). Lycopene Protects Against Spontaneous Ovarian Cancer Formation in Laying Hens. J Cancer Prev. 2018;23(1):25-36
(4) Michael Schnekenburger, Marc Diederich., (2015). Nutritional Epigenetic Regulators in the Field of Cancer, in Epigenetic Cancer Therapy 2015, Pages 393-425
(5) Schwarz S, et al., (2008). Lycopene inhibits disease progression in patients with benign prostate hyperplasia. J Nutr. 2008 Jan;138(1):49-53
(6) Sesso HD, Liu S, Gaziano JM, Buring JE., (2003). Dietary lycopene, tomato-based food products and cardiovascular disease in women. J Nutr. 2003 Jul;133(7):2336-41
(7) Mozos I, Stoian D, Caraba A, Malainer C, Horbanczuk JO, Atanasov AG., (2018). Lycopene and Vascular Health. Front Pharmacol. 2018;9:521. 2018 May 23. doi:10.3389/fphar.2018.00521
(8) Ried K, Fakler P., (2010). Protective effect of lycopene on serum cholesterol and blood pressure: Meta-analyses of intervention trials. Maturitas. 2011 Apr;68(4):299-310. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2010.11.018
(9) Abdel-Rahman HG., et al., (2018). Lycopene: Hepatoprotective and Antioxidant Effects toward Bisphenol A-Induced Toxicity in Female Wistar Rats. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2018;2018:5167524. 2018 Jul 26. doi:10.1155/2018/5167524
(10) Neuman I, Nahum H, Ben-Amotz A., (2000). Reduction of exercise-induced asthma oxidative stress by lycopene, a natural antioxidant. Allergy. 2000 Dec;55(12):1184-9
(11) Theeranat Suwanaruang, (2016). Analyzing Lycopene Content in Fruits. Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia Vol 11, 2016, Pages 46-48
(12) Lycopene USDA Food Composition Databases. Accessed 03.Jan.2021
(13) Korolev, A., Kirpichenkova, E., Nikitenko, E., Denisova, E., and Fanda, E. (2020). Lycopene Quantity and Sources in the Diet of Healthy Young People. Current Developments in Nutrition, 4(Suppl 2), 117. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzaa041_021
(14) Erdman JW, Ford NA, Lindshield BL., (2008). Are the health attributes of lycopene related to its antioxidant function?. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2008;483(2):229-35
(15) Borel P, Desmarchelier C, Nowicki M, Bott R., (2015). Lycopene bioavailability is associated with a combination of genetic variants. Free Radic Biol Med. 2015 Jun;83:238-44. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2015.02.033. Epub 2015 Mar 13.
(16) Zhang W, Li W, Du J, (2022). Association between dietary carotenoid intakes and the risk of asthma in adults: a cross-sectional study of NHANES, 2007–2012. BMJ Open 2022;12:e052320. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052320
About this Article
The Health Benefits of Lycopene, A. Whittall
©2024 Fit-and-Well.com. First Published: 14.Mar.2019. Updated 11.Nov.2024. Update scheduled for 11.Nov.2027. https://www.fit-and-well.com/diet-food/lycopene-benefits-as-antioxidant.html
Tags: free radicals, liver, hypertension, heart disease, Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), lycopene, antioxidants, asthma, prostate, cancer