Eating tomato sauce a couple of times a week may reduce prostate cancer risk, according to a Harvard study including nearly 48,000 men.
Previous research has yielded conflicting results on whether consumption of tomato products affects prostate cancer risk, as they have largely focused on lycopene, an antioxidant abundant in tomatoes. Antioxidants may help shield against cancer and heart disease by neutralizing harmful molecules known as oxygen free radicals.
Based on the questionnaire results, the investigators were able to calculate the amount of lycopene consumed daily from all food sources.
Men whose average intake of lycopene was 19 milligrams each day had a 16% lower risk of prostate cancer than men who took in 3 milligrams of lycopene daily.
The reduction in prostate cancer risk was even greater when tomato sauce intake was considered. Men who ate two or more servings of tomato sauce each week were 23% less likely to develop prostate cancer during the study period than men who ate less than one serving of tomato sauce each month.
The associations with lycopene and tomato sauce intake persisted after controlling for fruit and vegetable intake as well as olive oil use.
Journal of the National Cancer Institute March 6, 2002;94:391-398
Lycopene in this study was obtained from foods and not supplements. It is not known if taking lycopene as a supplement would provide similar benefits.
In general, I am opposed to taking many supplements. I believe that it is far better to consume large amounts of whole foods in the eating plan.
However, I do make a partial exception and do recommend therapeutic doses of vitamin D for prostate cancer. Ideally we should get our vitamin D from the sun, but that is not practical for the vast majority of Americans. Since this is a fat soluble vitamin it needs to be monitored by blood testing.
It is also important to point out that tomatoes are not "lectin-compatible" for most blood types, if you believe the Eat For Your Blood Type Approach. I am not a huge fan of this system, although I do believe it has some value in fine-tuning one's diet.
The BEST system for determining your ideal foods is the "Listen To Your Body" principle. If YOUR body tells you to avoid eating a food, it is wise to stay away from it. It will generally tell you this in a number of ways. The most common is nausea or digestive disturbances, or a decrease in energy or mental alertness.
Each of us have an individual pattern and if you carefully listen to your body you will be able to find out what your clues are for foods that are not promoting health and wellness in your body.
Below is a table listing the lycopene content of several foods:
Additionally, high amounts of omega-3 fats will help protect against and treat prostate cancer. However, you will also need to reduce your intake of omega-6 fats at the same time, as the omega-6 fats have been shown to increase cancer in the amounts found in the typical American diet.
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