A study has found that higher consumption of tomatoes could be associated with dark risk of liver cancer which is caused by high-fat diets. The study was conducted on mice which showed that tomatoes are rich in lycopene (a strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agent), anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agent which helps in effectively reducing fatty liver disease, inflammation and liver cancer development as well.
“Consuming whole foods like tomatoes and processed tomatoes from sauces, tomato paste, canned whole tomato products, ketchup and juice, provides the best source of lycopene”, said Professor at Tufts University in the US Xiang-Dong Wang. It is quite interesting to note that tomato powder is more effective than the same dose of purified lycopene supplementation to prevent liver cancer development, said Wang. This could be due to the beneficial effects of other nutrients in a whole tomato, such as vitamin E, vitamin C, folate, minerals, phenolic compounds and other dietary fibres.
Other foods including guava, watermelon, grapefruit, papaya, and sweet red pepper also contain lycopene, but in much lower concentrations compared to tomatoes. Eating tomatoes and tomato products such as tomato sauce rich in lycopene is also associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and certain cancers, including prostate, lung, breast and colon cancer, the study showed.