You probably put them on your plates often, and that’s a very good thing, according to dietetic expert Michael Mosley: tomatoes would be a very good ally in the fight against cancer, he recently affirmed on the microphone of his podcast Just One Thing, as reports the Chronicle Live site.
The benefits of lycopene
If they are so interesting for health, it is thanks to an antioxidant called lycopene. He specifies that cooking them would be even better, allowing this molecule to better penetrate the body. It is this substance which gives its red color to the tomato, so it is a pigment. It is from the carotenoid family, which our body does not produce naturally. The only source is therefore food.
Cancer, cholesterol… The benefits of lycopene
As we explained to you in a previous article on Top Santé: tomatoes represent 85% of our lycopene intake, and studies have already highlighted that if we ingest 6 mg/day (i.e. 2 tomatoes), it has beneficial effects on our health. This molecule would make it possible to fight against bad cholesterol, but its main target on our body would be precisely cancers: esophagus, pancreas, lung, uterus…
According to Michael Mosley, tomatoes (and therefore their lycopene) are particularly useful in fighting against male cancer, that of the prostate. This body would be less efficient than others when it comes to “repair” your DNAthis is where lycopene could be useful.
To support his information, Michael Mosley brought in Professor Van Breeman, from Oregon State University in the United States, who has worked on the issue of tomatoes and cancer. They point out that another type of cancer, female this time, could be further avoided thanks to this fruit: breast cancer.
Source: Just One Thing Podcast
