Get Sauced to Stay Healthy
As if the taste of your grandmother’s spaghetti sauce recipe weren’t enough incentive. Studies show that the yummy red stuff is a major cancer deterrent, too.
Your risk of developing certain cancers (like prostate, GI, skin, or breast cancer) decreases significantly when you eat 10 or more tablespoons of tomato sauce per week. S’getti, anyone?
Lovely Lycopene
Many scientists believe that the active ingredient responsible for the cancer protection is lycopene, a carotenoid known for its antioxidant properties. All tomato products contain lots of lycopene, but it’s more available to your body when it’s cooked.
Soup It Up
While you’re at it, add some cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower, to your sauce. They contain chemicals that prevent cancer, too — so you get double protection.
Heads-Up for Men
You know that tomatoes are a powerful prostate protector. In a study of over 40,000 health professionals, Harvard investigators found that men who ate more than 10 servings tomato-based foods daily (like cooked tomatoes and tomato sauce,) had a 35 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who ate the least amount of these foods. The benefits of lycopene was more pronounced with advanced stages of prostate cancer.
In another study of prostate cancer, researchers looked at blood levels of lycopene and found that the risk of developing prostate cancer, especially aggressive cancer, decreased with increasing blood lycopene levels. Men taking 50mg of lycopene daily had significantly higher level of lycopene. In this study, researchers found that high level of lycopene in the blood was associated with low PSA (prostate specific antigen) levels. High PSA levels in blood are often a sign of prostate cancer.
For more information, please browse Encouraging Health.
April 26th, 2008 at 7:38 am
I’m amazed that lycopene is more available cooked than raw. That’s so unusual. Here’s an article with more information about lycopene and how good it is for you. I’ll be whipping up a batch of tomato sauce today! Thanks for the great information.
April 26th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Thanks Tess for commenting and for a great link about Lycopene!