Let’s continue with the second series. I love tomatoes in any form. So, what tomatoes have to do with men’s prostate health.

Lycopene belongs to a group of antioxidants that is known as carotenoids. The antioxidant in lycopene are twice more powerful than in beta-carotene. Lycopene helps to prevent and repair damaged cells. Studies demonstrate its effectiveness in killing cancerous cells by enhancing the immune system and curb DNA oxidation that may lead to other cancers.

A study by Harvard Medical School shows that if you eat at least one-half cup servings of tomatoes twice a week, your risk of having prostate problems decreases by 34 percent.

Our body cannot make lycopene. But you can obtain it through diet. High concentration of this substance can be found especially in tomatoes. Other fruits such as pink grapefruit, guava, apricots, and watermelon also contains lycopene.

One medium size of tomato supplies about 4mg of lycopene. You can also take tomato in other forms such as juice, sauce, ketchup, or paste. An 8-ounce serving in these forms gives you a maximum of 25mg of lycopene.

The question is which form is more effective? Raw or processed?

Studies prove that absorption of lycopene from tomatoes into the bloodstream improves when they are heat processed initially. So, before eating, cook your fresh tomatoes with a little oil. This will improve your body’s absorption of lycopene.

On the other hand, eating raw tomatoes benefits you because lycopene works the best when interacting with other phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables. If you are buying tomatoes, choose the red ones, The redder they are, the higher the content of lycopene.

[tags] prostate health, prostate, health, men health, sexual health, men issue, tomato, lycopene, diet [/tags]

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