Lycopene: Snack on This Tasty Tidbit

Can You Guess Which Flavorsome Fruit is Packed with This Powerful Phytonutrient?

When Seeing Red May Be a Good Thing

Did you know that Lycopene, an antioxidant phytochemical found in certain red and pink fruits, might be beneficial to your diet? Lycopene is thought to help protect plants from stress. Okay so plants don't experience the same stress humans do, so how does this relate to your health? Well, it turns out that Lycopene possesses antioxidant properties, which means that it helps neutralize free radicals and their destructive effects.** If free radicals inundate the body's ability to control their regulation, you could experience a condition known as oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is a sort of burden that our bodies bear with ordinary functions. So creating a balance between free radicals and antioxidants is important.**

What exactly are free radicals?

The scientific way to explain free radicals is "any molecular species capable of independent existence that contains an unpaired electron in an atomic orbital."¹ Alright, what's the simple way to understand that? Free radicals can damage cells and they may have an effect on age-related conditions. How do these free radicals get into our cells? The simple explanation is that free radicals occur from ordinary metabolic processes within our bodies (so, ordinary functions in our bodies actually create them). Additionally, free radicals may also be caused by exposure to outside sources such as smoking and air pollutants. Antioxidants such as beta-carotene and lycopene combat free radicals.**

Colorful Characteristics

Lycopene is a carotenoid that gives the tomato its deep red color. It also gives the beautiful deep pink color to watermelon, pink guava and pink grapefruits, and it is responsible for the peach colored hue of apricots. So, what's a carotenoid? Sounds like something bad, right? It practically has the word 'rotten' right there in the middle. Trust us. Carotenoids are good. Carotenoids are the pigments responsible for giving red, yellow, and orange fruits and vegetables their colors. Each carotenoid has its own unique function in the human body. Lycopene is a carotenoid found in several fruits.

Heavyweight Fighter

So, what exactly does this particular carotenoid do besides fight free radicals?** Studies show that Lycopene helps promote prostate and heart health.** In fact, one long term study found that men who consumed more lycopene per day had increased measures of prostate health.** Lycopene is also associated with a healthy pancreas, and colon health.** So, it turns out this colorful carotenoid packs a pretty powerful punch.

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You Say Tomato, I say Tom-ah-to

Now that you know a little bit about what Lycopene can do for you, how do you get it? It turns out that the sweet, red ripe tomato is one of the most concentrated sources of Lycopene from food. And, the body may more easily absorb the Lycopene in cooked tomatoes and tomato products than the Lycopene in raw tomatoes. Whether you say tom-A-to or tom-ah-to, please your palate with a variety tomato soups and sauces or indulge in a robust roasted tomato dish. Go ahead, enjoy your mama's marinara, even if it does give you garlic breath.

1. Lobo V et al. Pharmacogn Rev. 2010;4:118-126