The nutrient lycopene is what gives tomatoes their red color... but this nutrient may also be able slow down the growth of cancer cells, and even destroy them! Dr Midrula Chopra and her colleagues from the University of Plymouth have been experimenting, and concluded that lycopene could play a role in preventing and fighting prostate cancer.
Dr Chopra and her colleagues published their findings in the British Journal of Nutrition. She stressed that the research still has a long way to go, and that the team's results were achieved in a lab setting in test tubes. But she said that the lab results were very clear: "It is possible to intercept the simple mechanism some cancer cells use to grow at concentrations that can be achieved by eating sufficient cooked tomatoes."
Lycopene is present in all red fruits and vegetables, but is found in the highest concentration in tomatoes. The interesting thing is that the amount of lycopene that the body can absorb goes up when the tomatoes are cooked and processed. Dr Chopra said that lycopene interferes with cancer's growth process and ability to enter the blood stream. She then added: "This simple chemical reaction was shown to occur at lycopene concentrations that can easily be achieved by eating processed tomatoes." Very interesting. Very promising. Right?
But hang on a second this study was, in fact, partly funded by the well-known manufacturer of tomato-containing products, Heinz. Heinz requested the experiments after earlier studies found that the blood and sperm samples of participants contained a lot more lycopene when they ate 400g of processed tomatoes daily for two weeks. I'm sure there's no need to point out any potential conflict of interest here.
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