The Telegraph - 31 Jan 2012
A nutrient in cooked tomatoes has been shown in laboratory studies to slow the growth of - and even kill - prostate cancer cells, scientists said today.
Lycopene found in cooked tomatoes intercepts cancer's
ability to cause damage Photo: Newscast / Alamy
Dr Mridula Chopra and colleagues at the University of Portsmouth tested the
effect of the nutrient lycopene on the simple mechanism through which cancer
cells hijack a body's healthy blood supply to grow and spread.
They found that lycopene, which is what gives tomatoes their red colour,
intercepts cancer's ability to make the connections it needs to attach to a
healthy blood supply.
The researchers, from the university's School of Pharmacy and Biomedical
Sciences, are now calling for tests to check if the same reaction occurs in
the human body.
Director of the research Dr Chopra said: ''This simple chemical reaction was
shown to occur at lycopene concentrations that can easily be achieved by
eating processed tomatoes.''
Lycopene is present in all red fruits and vegetables, but its concentrations
are highest in tomatoes and it becomes more readily available and
biologically active when it comes from processed tomatoes with a small
amount of cooking oil added.
FOOD NAVIGATOR - APRIL 2002
Researchers
from Cornell University in the US said that cooking the tomatoes
increased the level of phytochemicals they contain, although it also
reduces the amount of vitamin C in the vegetable...
http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Tomatoes-cooked-better-than-raw
Lycopene (Wikipedia)...
Lycopene (from the New Latin word lycopersicum for the tomato species name) is a bright red carotene and carotenoid pigment and phytochemical found in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables, such as red carrots, watermelons and papayas (but not strawberries or cherries). Although lycopene is chemically a carotene, it has no vitamin A activity.
In plants, algae, and other photosynthetic organisms, lycopene is an important intermediate in the biosynthesis of many carotenoids, including beta carotene, responsible for yellow, orange or red pigmentation, photosynthesis, and photo-protection. Like all carotenoids, lycopene is a polyunsaturated hydrocarbon (an unsubstituted alkene).
Lycopene (Wikipedia)...
Lycopene (from the New Latin word lycopersicum for the tomato species name) is a bright red carotene and carotenoid pigment and phytochemical found in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables, such as red carrots, watermelons and papayas (but not strawberries or cherries). Although lycopene is chemically a carotene, it has no vitamin A activity.
In plants, algae, and other photosynthetic organisms, lycopene is an important intermediate in the biosynthesis of many carotenoids, including beta carotene, responsible for yellow, orange or red pigmentation, photosynthesis, and photo-protection. Like all carotenoids, lycopene is a polyunsaturated hydrocarbon (an unsubstituted alkene).
Structurally, it is a tetraterpene assembled from eight isoprene units, composed entirely of carbon and hydrogen, and is insoluble in water. Lycopene's eleven conjugated double bonds give it its deep red color and are responsible for its antioxidant activity. Due to its strong color and non-toxicity, lycopene is a useful food coloring (registered as E160d) and is approved for usage in the USA, Australia and New Zealand (registered as 160d) and the EU.
Lycopene is not an essential nutrient for humans, but is commonly found in the diet, mainly from dishes prepared from tomatoes. When absorbed from the stomach, lycopene is transported in the blood by various lipoproteins and accumulates in the liver, adrenal glands, and testes.
Because preliminary research has shown an inverse correlation between consumption of tomatoes and cancer risk, lycopene has been considered a potential agent for prevention of some types of cancers, particularly prostate cancer. However, this area of research and the relationship with prostate cancer have been deemed insufficient of evidence for health claim approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (see below under Antioxidant properties and potential health benefits).
Dietary Sources
Fruits and vegetables that are high in lycopene include gac, tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, pink guava, papaya, seabuckthorn, wolfberry (goji, a berry relative of tomato), and rosehip. Although gac (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng) has the highest content of lycopene of any known fruit or vegetable, up to 70 times more than tomatoes for example, due to gac's rarity outside its native region of southeast Asia, tomatoes and tomato-based sauces, juices, and ketchup account for more than 85% of the dietary intake of lycopene for most people. The lycopene content of tomatoes depends on species and increases as the fruit ripens.
Unlike other fruits and vegetables, where nutritional content such as vitamin C is diminished upon cooking, processing of tomatoes increases the concentration of bioavailable lycopene. Lycopene in tomato paste is four times more bioavailable than in fresh tomatoes. For this reason, tomato sauce is a preferable source as opposed to raw tomatoes.
While most green leafy vegetables and other sources of lycopene are low in fats and oils, lycopene is insoluble in water and is tightly bound to vegetable fiber. Processed tomato products such as pasteurized tomato juice, soup, sauce, and ketchup contain the highest concentrations of bioavailable lycopene from tomato-based sources.
Cooking and crushing tomatoes (as in the canning process) and serving in oil-rich dishes (such as spaghetti sauce or pizza) greatly increases assimilation from the digestive tract into the bloodstream. Lycopene is fat-soluble, so the oil is said to help absorption. Gac is a notable exception, containing high concentrations of lycopene and also saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.
Lycopene may be obtained from vegetables and fruits such as the tomato, but another source of lycopene is the fungus Blakeslea trispora. Gac is a promising commercial source of lycopene for the purposes of extraction and purification.
The cis-lycopene from some varieties of tomato is more bioavailable.
Note that there are some resources which make the mistaken assumption that all red fruits contain lycopene, when in fact many are pigmented by other chemicals. An example is the blood orange, which is colored by anthocyanin, while other red colored oranges, such as the Cara cara navel, and other citrus fruit, such as pink grapefruit, are colored by lycopene.
In addition, some foods which do not appear red also contain lycopene, e.g., asparagus, which contains about 30μg of lycopene per 100 gram serving and dried parsley and basil, which contain about 3.5-7 μg of lycopene per gram.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycopene
Amazing Glutathione...
WHAT FOODS HAVE GLUTATHION?
Also, although, glutathione(GSH) is not found in foods, the following foods do help your body to make more Glutathione(GSH) and therefore, boost your body's GSH levels:
Avocado
Asparagus
Broccoli
Garlic
Raw Eggs
Spinach
tomatoes
Also, Curcumin (Turmeric)and even Fresh unprocessed meats
So, it just goes to show how important it is to eat fresh fruits and veggies (preferably locally-grown and organic) and fresh, unprocessed meats (preferably range-free and hormone-free)
Lycopene is not an essential nutrient for humans, but is commonly found in the diet, mainly from dishes prepared from tomatoes. When absorbed from the stomach, lycopene is transported in the blood by various lipoproteins and accumulates in the liver, adrenal glands, and testes.
Because preliminary research has shown an inverse correlation between consumption of tomatoes and cancer risk, lycopene has been considered a potential agent for prevention of some types of cancers, particularly prostate cancer. However, this area of research and the relationship with prostate cancer have been deemed insufficient of evidence for health claim approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (see below under Antioxidant properties and potential health benefits).
Dietary Sources
Fruits and vegetables that are high in lycopene include gac, tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, pink guava, papaya, seabuckthorn, wolfberry (goji, a berry relative of tomato), and rosehip. Although gac (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng) has the highest content of lycopene of any known fruit or vegetable, up to 70 times more than tomatoes for example, due to gac's rarity outside its native region of southeast Asia, tomatoes and tomato-based sauces, juices, and ketchup account for more than 85% of the dietary intake of lycopene for most people. The lycopene content of tomatoes depends on species and increases as the fruit ripens.
Unlike other fruits and vegetables, where nutritional content such as vitamin C is diminished upon cooking, processing of tomatoes increases the concentration of bioavailable lycopene. Lycopene in tomato paste is four times more bioavailable than in fresh tomatoes. For this reason, tomato sauce is a preferable source as opposed to raw tomatoes.
While most green leafy vegetables and other sources of lycopene are low in fats and oils, lycopene is insoluble in water and is tightly bound to vegetable fiber. Processed tomato products such as pasteurized tomato juice, soup, sauce, and ketchup contain the highest concentrations of bioavailable lycopene from tomato-based sources.
Cooking and crushing tomatoes (as in the canning process) and serving in oil-rich dishes (such as spaghetti sauce or pizza) greatly increases assimilation from the digestive tract into the bloodstream. Lycopene is fat-soluble, so the oil is said to help absorption. Gac is a notable exception, containing high concentrations of lycopene and also saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.
Lycopene may be obtained from vegetables and fruits such as the tomato, but another source of lycopene is the fungus Blakeslea trispora. Gac is a promising commercial source of lycopene for the purposes of extraction and purification.
The cis-lycopene from some varieties of tomato is more bioavailable.
Note that there are some resources which make the mistaken assumption that all red fruits contain lycopene, when in fact many are pigmented by other chemicals. An example is the blood orange, which is colored by anthocyanin, while other red colored oranges, such as the Cara cara navel, and other citrus fruit, such as pink grapefruit, are colored by lycopene.
In addition, some foods which do not appear red also contain lycopene, e.g., asparagus, which contains about 30μg of lycopene per 100 gram serving and dried parsley and basil, which contain about 3.5-7 μg of lycopene per gram.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycopene
Amazing Glutathione...
WHAT FOODS HAVE GLUTATHION?
Also, although, glutathione(GSH) is not found in foods, the following foods do help your body to make more Glutathione(GSH) and therefore, boost your body's GSH levels:
Avocado
Asparagus
Broccoli
Garlic
Raw Eggs
Spinach
tomatoes
Also, Curcumin (Turmeric)and even Fresh unprocessed meats
So, it just goes to show how important it is to eat fresh fruits and veggies (preferably locally-grown and organic) and fresh, unprocessed meats (preferably range-free and hormone-free)
