Lycopene Health Benefits

Sources of Lycopene

Lycopene is a bright red carotenoid pigment and phytochemical found in tomatoes and red fruit. It’s not an essential nutrient, but we still get a lot of it when we eat dishes made with tomato sauce.

It’s often used as coloring in food dishes.

What It Does For You

Of all the carotenoids, lycopene is one of the strongest antioxidants. It’s known for stopping singlet oxygen and peroxyl radicals, which both damage DNA and can lead to cancer.

Singlet oxygen produced by exposure to ultraviolet light is also the primary cause of skin aging.

Research into the inverse relationship between eating tomatoes and reduced risk of cancer is being done.

Lycopene Prostate Cancer

A 2005 review by the US Food and Drug Administration, cast doubt on the claim that lycopene helps prevent prostate cancer. They found that, as yet, there is no definitive evidence supporting this claim.

Get More Lycopene Goodness

Eat tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Unfortunately, tomatoes are in the top ten most allergic foods.

Other great sources of lycopene:

watermelon
pink grapefruit
red bell pepper

NOTE: Avoid raw green tomatoes. They contain the toxin tomatine.

Lycopene in a Supplement

If your multi-nutrient supplement lists lycopene as an ingredient, that’s great. Just don’t buy a lycopene-only supplement.