Health Benefits of Lycopene 🍅

By Elliot Fisher MS, CSCS, PES, NSCA-CPT

There are many nutrients in food that help promote health. One important but under looked nutrient is lycopene! Lycopene is a carotenoid that can be found in many reddish colored fruits and vegetables. It is a strong antioxidant that can help prevent different forms of cancer, most notably prostate cancer.(1) Prostate cancer is one of the more common forms of cancer in men and 1 out of 8 men will be diagnosed with it.(2) Lycopene can also help with diabetes, cardiac health, inflammation, bone and skin diseases, as well as reproductive health.(3) One of the best sources of lycopene is cooked tomatoes. Cooking tomatoes greatly increases the bioavailability of lycopene.(4)

Sources of Lycopene: (5)

1. Guavas 5204 mcg/100 grams

2. Tomatoes

   1. 3041 mcg/100 grams

   2. Tomato paste 18984 mcg/quarter cup

   3. Tomato sauce 16784 mcg/half cup

   4. Minestrone soup 1433 mcg/cup

3. Watermelon 4532 mcg/100 grams

4. Grapefruit 1419 mcg/100 grams

5. Papaya 1824 mcg/100 grams

6. Red Bell Peppers 484 mcg/100 grams

7. Persimmon 159 mcg/100 grams

8. Asparagus 30 mcg/100 grams

9. Red Cabbage 20 mcg/100 grams

10. Mangos 3 mcg/100 grams

Adding foods high in lycopene can be very advantageous for your health especially for males!

References:

1. Cassileth B. Lycopene. Oncology (Williston Park). 2010 Mar;24(3):296. PMID: 20394143.

2. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostate-cancer/about/key-statistics.html#:~:text=About%201%20man%20in%208,rare%20in%20men%20under%2040.

3. Imran, M., Ghorat, F., Ul-Haq, I., Ur-Rehman, H., Aslam, F., Heydari, M., Shariati, M. A., Okuskhanova, E., Yessimbekov, Z., Thiruvengadam, M., Hashempur, M. H., & Rebezov, M. (2020). Lycopene as a Natural Antioxidant Used to Prevent Human Health Disorders. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), 9(8), 706. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox9080706

4. Dewanto V, Wu X, Adom KK, Liu RH. Thermal processing enhances the nutritional value of tomatoes by increasing total antioxidant activity. J Agric Food Chem. 2002 May 8;50(10):3010-4. doi: 10.1021/jf0115589. PMID: 11982434.

5. https://www.myfooddata.com/articles/high-lycopene-foods.php