If you love eating tomatoes, then there’s a reason to rejoice for you. One novel study has stated that people, especially men, who consume tomatoes daily, can cut the risk of skin cancer tumours by 50%. A study was conducted on mice which explained how nutritional approach can cut the risk of skin cancers. Mice who were fed with a diet containing 10 percent tomato powder daily for 35 weeks and then exposed to UV radiations, experienced 50% lesser risk of skin cancer tumours as compared to their counterparts.
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"The theory behind the relationship between tomatoes and cancer is that dietary carotenoids, the pigmenting compounds that give tomatoes their colour, may protect skin against Ultraviolet (UV) light damage," said co-author of the study Jessica Cooperstone from Ohio State University in Columbus, US.
Cooperstone further noted that "previous human clinical trials suggest that eating tomato paste over time can dampen sunburns, perhaps thanks to carotenoids from the plants that are deposited in the skin of humans after eating, and may be able to protect against UV light damage".
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Tomatoes contain carotenoid called lycopene which is a powerful antioxidant among these pigments. When the lycopene administered from a tomato or a synthesized supplement, the tomatoes came out to be more effective in preventing the redness after exposure to UV radiations. It was also noted that other compounds in tomato are also responsible for the effect, according to researchers.
The team also concluded that only male mice fed with tomato powder showed reductions in tumour growth. Other who were fed with tangerine tomatoes, which is said to have higher quantities of lycopene, had fewer tumours than the control group. Cooperstone is currently researching tomato compounds other than lycopene that may impart health benefits.
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The study concludes the alternative methods for systemic protection, through nutritional interventions can be modulated to reduce risk of skin related diseases. Foods are not drugs, but they have the potential to alter the development of certain diseases.
(With ANI Inputs)
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