Last week, we began this piece on the benefits of red tomato to the health of human body. It was noted that the major component that makes tomato so good for health enhancement is lycopene, which is an effective antioxidant. Please read on…
What is lycopene?
This incredible little molecule was first isolated in 1910, and the full molecular structure was discovered in 1931. Lycopene is a phytonutrient. Put simply, phytonutrients are antioxidants found in plant life. These nutrients are not originally created by the human body, but rather produced by plants as a defense against environmental damage, such as pests, toxins and UV damage. Instead of allowing free radicals to run free within the plant, it creates various types of phytonutrients to protect itself.
Just like plants, we’re subjected to a lot of dangerous environmental chemicals and other things, like prolonged sun exposure, that can cause free radicals to damage cells throughout our entire body as well. That’s why it’s so important to “eat the rainbow.”
If you regularly eat plants of all colours, you can ensure you get enough phytonutrients to keep your body healthy.
Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that can protect and repair the body from damage caused by a multiple diseases.
There are more than 25,000 different kinds of phytonutrients found in plant foods, and one of the top five important classes is carotenoids. Carotenoids help plants to absorb lights and protect chlorophyll from UV damage. Of the 600 different types, lycopene makes this top five as well.
Like other carotenoids, lycopene is a fat-soluble nutrient, meaning it is absorbed better when consumed alongside fats, such as avocados, olive oil or seeds. The food with the highest concentration of lycopene is the tomato, although it can be found in many other plant foods as well.
One research study on the absorption of this nutrient by scientists at Ohio State University also discovered that not all lycopene molecules are created equally. In its original state, the molecule is linear (in a straight line). However, when testing the levels in the bloodstream, these researchers found that the lycopene molecules in the bloodstream were nearly all “bent.”
There are two possibilities for this. One is the body may have an unknown method of converting lycopene molecules from linear to bent. The more likely option is that the body prefers to absorb the bent molecules and discard most of the linear molecules.
How do you bend a lycopene molecule? Well, it’s a complicated process, but I’d like for you to try it anyway and let me know how it works. It’s called … heat.
That’s right! Using heat while cooking with foods rich in lycopene causes their molecules to bend and, therefore, absorbed more efficiently into your body. Unlike other types of phytonutrients, carotenoids like lycopene don’t experience degradation of their antioxidant qualities by adding heat.
Remember, fat is another necessary part of your body’s process to absorb lycopene. One of the best ways to get a lot of correctly shaped lycopene molecules is to make tomato sauce with oil. This produces the best result as it creates more bent lycopene moleclues.
Unfortunately, the process of creating a tomato sauce at home is not the same as the sauce you buy at the store. The same study found the molecules in store-bought tomato sauce contain the original form of lycopene molecules — and a greatly reduced number at that.
In this era when genetically modified seed are increasingly being used by farmers, it is necessary to determine that the tomatoes you were cultivated organically. Otherwise, you can’t guarantee the presence or absorption of phytonutrients in the right quantities.
Similarly, it’s not as beneficial as you might think to run to the nearest store for lycopene supplements, although they do exist. There are multiple molecular compounds similar to lycopene that can mistakenly be marked as lycopene supplements, and because supplements aren’t accompanied by the same other compounds as they are in food, you won’t get the most effective benefit.
Lycopene vs. Beta-carotene
There are other carotenoids that are popular in research and health study. One such carotenoid is beta-carotene, and it has some similarities and some differences to lycopene that are important to note.
ν Both are antioxidants.
ν Beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A. Lycopene is not a precursor to any vitamins.
ν Lycopene has not been proven to have lasting or permanently damaging side effects from overconsumption. Vitamin A from beta-carotene, however, is toxic, although this is only true in cases of over-supplementation, not in dietary intake.
ν When consumed dietary component, the body can filter out all unnecessary lycopene and beta-carotene.
ν Both have anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties.
ν Both protect against cognitive decline and eye disease.
νThe highest concentration of lycopene can be found in tomatoes. In peppers, you’ll get the most beta-carotene per serving.
ν Beta-carotene supplements can negatively interact with a number of medications, including statins, orlistat, some cholesterol-lowering drugs and mineral oil. Lycopene has potential complications when combined with blood thinners, fertility medications, nicotine and several other classes of dangerous drugs.
ν There is a suggested link between high beta-carotene levels and smoking-related cancer incidence. There is no known link between lycopene and higher cancer risk.
Best food sources of lycopene
While most studies focus on the high lycopene content in tomato nutrition, there are several foods high in lycopene content that you can introduce into your daily diet. These include watermelon, grapefruit, guavas, papaya, asparagus, red cabbage, mango, carrots
Lycopene precautions
There are rare cases of skin discoloration known as “lycopenodermia” in a few people who consume very high levels of tomato products. This is a nontoxic reaction and is cured by a few weeks on a lycopene-free diet. There are also some reported side effects of high lycopene consumption that include diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain or cramps, gas, vomiting, and loss of appetite.
Research from the Mayo Clinic also suggests that this antioxidant may adversely react with a number of medications and substances, including blood thinners, blood pressure-lowering medications, “agents that bind to bile acid, agents that may affect the immune system, agents that may affect the nervous system, agents that may increase sensitivity to sunlight, agents that may treat lung disorders, agents that may treat stomach disorders, alcohol (ethanol), androgens, anti-ashmatic agents, anticancer agents, anti-inflammatory agents, arsenic, cholesterol-lowering agents, creatinine, fertility agents, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins), nicotine and probucol.”
►Adapted from draxe.com.
Additional benefits of tomato
5. Good for your brain
Lycopene also has compelling neurological benefits. For example, treatment with lycopene has been explored as a possible option to delay the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease by correcting cell corruption and protecting healthy cells.
In patients who have already developed this potentially debilitating condition, lycopene counteracts future cell damage and death in the brain by interacting with specific mitochondrial interactions, which if left unchecked, allow the brain to continue to suffer constant degradation.
In similar processes, this phytonutrient also exhibits restorative properties against epileptic seizures. This is so important, as seizures limit oxygen to the brain and have the potential to cause permanent brain damage if they go on too long.
In one 2016 study, scientists discovered that it could not only prevent some future seizures, but that it repaired neural destruction in the brain from past seizures.
Outside of neurological disease, there is also much concern about the presence of diets high in unhealthy fats and how this affects cognitive development. Not all fats are the same, and not all of them as are as bad for you as you might expect. However, considering the linkage between common Western diets and neurological decline, researchers in China found that lycopene stopped memory and learning impairments in subjects on high-fat diets.
6. Improves heart health
From start to finish, lycopene also proves to be a tool in protecting the heart from a large number of common conditions.
It is one of the nutrients recommended for lowering high blood pressure levels. It prevents several cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease, myocardial ischemia (reduced blood flow to the heart caused by arterial blockages) and atherosclerosis. Specifically related to research on coronary heart disease, tomato nutrition in particular was named as a determining factor in prevention.
Overall, high levels of lycopene in the bloodstream are associated with a lower mortality rate in people with metabolic syndrome, a combination of disorders that lead to heart disease.
7. Keeps your bones strong
Vitamin K and calcium aren’t the only things that keep your bones strong. Lycopene also helps relieve oxidative stress in bones that cause brittle and weak bone structure. It slows the apoptosis (cell death) that causes bones to weaken and reinforces the cellular architecture of bones, keeping them healthier and stronger.
►Adapted from draxe.com.