How Cooked Tomatoes Help Fight Cancer

                                                          Image Credit: Mercola.com       

Noting that prostate cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer among men worldwide, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign conducted a meta-analysis of 30 studies related to dietary tomato intake and prostate cancer, which was published in the journal Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Disease.

After summarizing data from more than 24,000 cases involving upward of 260,000 participants, they concluded "increased tomato consumption is inversely associated with prostate cancer risk." The findings were summarized as follows:

Higher total tomato consumption was associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer

Specifically, tomato foods, cooked tomatoes and tomato sauces were linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer

No associations were found with respect to raw tomatoes

A 2011 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition demonstrated lycopene in cooked tomatoes was able to slow the growth of, and even kill, prostate cancer cells in test tube-based experiments. Researchers from the U.K.'s University of Portsmouth tested the effects of lycopene on the mechanism through which cancer cells flourish by disrupting your body's blood supply. Specifically, they found lycopene prevented cancer cells from attaching to a healthy blood supply.

Mridula Chopra, Ph.D., study author and senior lecturer for the school of pharmacy and biomedical sciences at the University of Portsmouth, said, ''[While] more testing needs to be carried out to confirm our findings, the laboratory evidence we have found is clear. It is possible to intercept the simple mechanism some cancer cells use to grow at concentrations that can be achieved by eating sufficient [amounts of] cooked tomatoes.''

The research was partially funded by H.J. Heinz, and the food manufacturer requested follow-up research related to previous studies conducted by the same group of scientists. The earlier studies showed a significant increase in lycopene levels in blood and semen samples after subjects ate 14 ounces (400 g) of processed tomatoes for two weeks.

The current study underscored lycopene for its anti-angiogenic properties, which explains why it has been recognized as an important anticancer compound. Before any firm conclusions can be drawn, however, researchers noted the need to conduct tests involving human participants. Chopra stated:

"Individuals will vary in how much lycopene their bodies make available to fight cancer cell growth. The ability of lycopene to 'intercept' in this way in the body is likely to vary between tomato products — both processing and cooking with fat have previously been shown to make lycopene more effective biologically. The type of tomatoes that offer the most effective lycopene also differs, and more tests need to be done to find the best breed of tomato for this purpose.''

Article Source: Dr Mercola at Mercola.com  

How Tomato Sauce Promotes Gut Health

In a study published in the Journal of Functional Foods, researchers from Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) in Spain evaluated how gut bacteria interacts with antioxidants in your gut, specifically with respect to cooked tomato sauce. The team chose to use pear tomatoes because they have a particularly high lycopene content and are rich in antioxidants.

Led by professor Ana Belén Heredia from UPV's department of food technology, the scientists conducted in vitro experiments to see how Lactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri) would interact with antioxidants derived from tomato sauce and if the cooking process might influence that interaction. L. reuteri is one of the main bacterial species known to contribute to your gut health.

Heredia and her team noted a loss of antioxidants with respect to both raw and cooked (fried) tomato sauce as a result of the digestive process. Furthermore, it appeared the presence of L. reuteri prevented some of the antioxidants from being absorbed into the bloodstream. Notably, the group also observed the antioxidants from the tomato sauce — more so with the cooked sauce than its raw equivalent — enhanced the positive effects of L. reuteri.

Cooked sauce also had the effect of transforming the lycopene present in the tomato, which helped preserve its integrity through the digestive process, allowing more of this important antioxidant to be absorbed. Noted Heredia, "[W]e found serving meals rich in probiotics with fried tomato sauce boosts its probiotic effect, as well as causing a progressive isomerization of the lycopene of the tomato, from form cis to trans throughout digestion, which positively results in an increased final bioaccessibility of this carotenoid."

Article Source: Dr Mercola at Mercola.com