Can tomato lycopene help maintain health and wellbeing?

Lyc-O-Mato is an unlicensed supplement containing standardised tomato lycopene extracted from a specially bred variety of tomatoes. Lycopene, the natural pigment responsible for the beautiful red colour of tomatoes is a powerful antioxidant, at least twice as effective as beta-carotene in the body’s defence against harmful free-radicals.

Lycopene has been recognised for some time as a vital nutrient. It is the predominant carotenoid found in the blood and in various organs and tissues in the human body. Its valuable antioxidant properties protect the body against the signs of aging and the onset of chronic degenerative conditions such as heart disease, cancer and arthritis. Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) and processed tomato products are the most abundant sources of lycopene, but it is also found to a lesser degree in pink grapefruit, watermelon, guava and rosehip.

In the past, the lycopene content of ordinary tomatoes was too low to make its extraction commercially viable. This problem was solved by Israeli company LycoRed, who developed their own organically grown hybrid tomato with a lycopene content up to four times higher than normal tomatoes. Even so, it still takes two tons of these lycopene-rich tomatoes to produce a single gram of the lycopene extract, which is then mixed with tomato oil, beta carotene and vitamin E for better absorption and even more potent antioxidant effects.

Scientific Research Findings

The health benefits of lycopene have been the subject of much scientific research and are well-catalogued. Below we have summarised just some of the findings:-

• Several population studies have shown that a high intake of tomato-based foods is associated with a lower risk of cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum and prostate.
• Following a six-year study by Harvard Medical School of 48,000 men, it was estimated that eating tomato products just twice a week (as opposed to not at all) reduced the risk of prostate cancer by up to a staggering 34%. Of 46 fruits and vegetables evaluated in the study, only the tomato showed a significant relationship with reduction in the risk of prostate cancer. Edward Giovannucci MD, who led the research said “These findings suggest that intake of lycopene or other compounds in tomatoes may reduce prostate cancer risk.”
• A study by the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit demonstrated signs of regression and decreased malignancy in the tumours of prostate cancer patients who took natural lycopene supplements.
• Another study, conducted by the University of North Carolina, compared fat samples from men who had suffered a heart attack with those of healthy men. It found that those with high levels of lycopene were half as likely to have an attack as those with low levels.
• Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the most common form of blindness for elderly people in the western world. Lycopene is the only micro-nutrient whose serum level is shown to be inversely related to the risk of ARMD.

Take a look at Lyc-o-mato, the the original natural tomato lycopene to help maintain health and well-being.

Jemma Morriss