How to get more lycopene in your diet
Lycopene is found in red fruits and vegetables and is a great way to fight against prostate cancer, cervical cancer, and breast cancer, intestinal and lung cancer, in addition to heart and lung disease. It is proven that roughly 75% of the United States population does not eat the recommended five servings of vegetables and fruits daily. Or, if they are eating fruits and vegetable, they are not eating a variation that will provide the nutrients and vitamins to produce a healthy body.
Lycopene can be taken in the form of a pill, however it is tastier and better if you eat the red fruits and vegetables that are a natural source of lycopene. These would be:
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- Tomatoes
- V-8 juice
- Watermelon
- Red sauces, like spaghetti sauce
- Pink grapefruit
- Guava
- Apricots
These foods have the carotenoid lycopene. This will provide a natural defense against the damage of free radicals that cause gene damage. Lycopene has been discovered to fight against the devastating effects of prostate cancer. Free radicals are molecules that have at least one unpaired electron.
When comparisons of prostate cancer patients were monitored with the use of lycopene in their diet and the ones that have not had the lycopene in their diets, it was found that the patients that had taken the lycopene had a significantly less growth amount in the cancer cells.
There are some studies that stated that men who tend to eat red sauces like spaghetti sauce twice a week are much less likely to get prostate cancer. The highest amount of lycopene will be found in processed tomato products like, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and stewed tomatoes.
Lycopene acts as a natural pigment that is a necessary anti-oxidant for your body. The antioxidants are what fight against the damaging free radicals in your body. The deep red color that you see in tomatoes and other fruits like it is the lycopene.
There have also been heart studies that measured the lycopene in the fatty tissues of men, that showed the risk of heart attacks minimized at least 50% in the men with the higher amounts of lycopene in the fatty tissue.
You can eat the red sauces like in spaghetti and pizza, however there is nothing like getting the higher amount of lycopene in a fresh red tomato. However the cooked sauces do make it easier for the body to process the lycopene.
There are still many agencies that have not accepted the full affect of lycopene in the body. This is something that in time will be changed as the evidence of the benefit of a higher level of lycopene comes about.
Lycopene is offered in both a gel form and a pill form. They are equally as effective. You can also find these items in a multi-vitamin form. Though, none of these will make up for eating real fruits and vegetables high in lycopene.
Currently there are no upper limits of lycopene, and there has been no adverse effects of to much lycopene that have been found, however it is probably like anything else, use in moderation is suggested.
Adding the many foods that give you boosted amounts of lycopene is a sure way to increase overall health, a balanced diet and increase the antioxidants that will fight against disease and health issues.
