Does Lycopene Have Any Proven Health Benefits?

[ralph124c]

This stuff (lycopene) exists in tomatoes. I was looking at my ketchop bttle-there was a blurb on the back about how good this stuff is for you. y question: yes, I know a lot of Italians get to be elderly-but is it because they consume a lot of tomatoes? Why does lycopene do for you?

[Claire_Beauchamp]

It has been shown to reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Note that the tomatoes must be cooked to provide the benefit. Lycopene is also found in watermelon.

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA143002

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

@Claire_Beauchamp

It has been shown to reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Note that the tomatoes must be cooked to provide the benefit. Lycopene is also found in watermelon.

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA143002

No such good evidence exists in controlled studies.

Tomatoes might be nutritious and tasty, but don’t count on them to prevent prostate cancer. In the May (2007) issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, researchers based at the National Cancer Institute and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center report that lycopene, an antioxidant predominately found in tomatoes, does not effectively prevent prostate cancer. In fact, the researchers noted an association between beta-carotene, an antioxidant related to lycopene, and an increased risk for aggressive prostate cancer.

No Magic Tomato? Study Breaks Link Between Lycopene And Prostate Cancer...

More data here, a nice summary of lycopenes: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Lycopene.asp

Bottom line: It might be good for you, we just don’t know for sure.

[Claire_Beauchamp]

Qadgop, if I’m not mistaken, you’re a doctor? So obviously you have some good info.

Weil has a rebuttal to the Hutchinson study that falls more on the side of “probably” than “probably not”: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA400229

While this study was widely touted as including more than 28,000 men, the conclusion was based on data from just over 1,500. Instead of carefully following diets for eight years and then comparing consumption of lycopene-rich food to the development of prostate cancer, they selected those who had already developed prostate cancer and tried to make assumptions from blood levels of carotenoids. And while these investigators concluded that on the basis of their retrospective analytical methods lycopene and other carotenoids had no effect on prostate cancer, we have very good evidence from other studies that lycopene does in fact lower the risk. The FDA scrutinized this evidence very carefully before deciding in 2005 that tomato-based products could carry the claim that they may reduce the risks of prostate, gastric, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers. I don’t think this latest study makes a compelling case against the findings of earlier trials, many of which were actually designed to look at the lycopene/cancer-risk connection, rather than draw conclusions after cancer developed.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

@Claire_Beauchamp

Qadgop, if I’m not mistaken, you’re a doctor? So obviously you have some good info.

Weil has a rebuttal to the Hutchinson study that falls more on the side of “probably” than “probably not”: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA400229

Yes, I’m a doctor.

And that’s a fairly lukewarm rebuttal, containing the phrase “The FDA scrutinized this evidence very carefully before deciding in 2005 that tomato-based products could carry the claim that they may reduce the risks of prostate, gastric, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers”.

So far, conclusive evidence is lacking. It ‘may’ reduce, or it ‘may not’.

Now, I concur that eating more veggies is a good thing, but I’m not going to tout specific health benefits from various types of compounds when they may not indeed truly exist.

[Johanna]

Anecdotal FWIW-- My grandfather from Sicily ate pasta and pizza with tomato sauce practically every day of his life. He died of prostate cancer at the age of 85.

[Jackmannii]

I agree with Qadgop - lycopene may turn out to have significant value in cancer prevention, but hard evidence is lacking.

“Although Phase I and II studies have been published that establish the safety of lycopene supplementation, carefully designed and adequately powered clinical studies of lycopene are still needed to confirm its efficacy as a chemoprevention agent.”

I certainly wouldn’t discourage consuming lycopene-containing foods as part of a plant-heavy diet, in part for potential cardiovascular benefits.

[Bill_Door]

@Johanna

Anecdotal FWIW-- My grandfather from Sicily ate pasta and pizza with tomato sauce practically every day of his life. He died of prostate cancer at the age of 85.

Also FWIW, dying at the age of 85 after a life spent eating pasta and pizza with tomato sauce sounds pretty good.

[SanibelMan]

A study came out this week in Britain that showed lycopene could fight not cancer, but heart disease.

Scientists say a natural supplement made from tomatoes, taken daily, can stave off heart disease and strokes.
The tomato pill contains an active ingredient from the Mediterranean diet - lycopene - that blocks “bad” LDL cholesterol that can clog the arteries.
Ateronon, made by a biotechnology spin-out company of Cambridge University, is being launched as a dietary supplement and will be sold on the high street.
Experts said more trials were needed to see how effective the treatment is.
Preliminary trials involving around 150 people with heart disease indicate that Ateronon can reduce the oxidation of harmful fats in the blood to almost zero within eight weeks, a meeting of the British Cardiovascular Society will be told at Ateronon’s launch on Monday.

So, it’s one biotech company that plans to announce the pill they’ll be selling over-the-counter will be the latest wonder drug for heart disease, better than statins… take it for what it’s worth.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

@SanibelMan

A study came out this week in Britain that showed lycopene could fight not cancer, but heart disease. So, it’s one biotech company that plans to announce the pill they’ll be selling over-the-counter will be the latest wonder drug for heart disease, better than statins… take it for what it’s worth.

From your link:

Our advice to heart disease patients or those at high risk is to rely on proven medications prescribed by their doctor, and aim to get the benefits of a Mediterranean diet by eating plenty of fresh fruit and veg

Professor Peter Weissberg of the British Heart Foundation

That’s good advice, in my book. So save your coin, and use it to buy fresh produce, not lycopene pills.

[Philster]

I hate to over-generalize, but one consistent message from all studies when reviewed as a whole:

Eat all sorts of good stuff, of different colors and types and do it consistently. Eating twelve oranges a day won’t ward off colds, and eating five cans of cooked tomatoes daily won’t fend off prostate cancer.

Each a bunch of different and fun/colorful fruits, veggies and grains. Taking just one, and focusing on it, can be bad.

Further, supplements don’t seem to do much unless you are severely lacking a certain nutrient. Eat all your healthy fishes, lean meats, grains, fruits and veggies and you offer yourself the best chances.

Too much vitamin E? Too much blood thinner. Too many nuts (arginine)? Mild herpes viruses in eyes, etc. Too much Vitamin C? Too much useless work for liver.

Mix it up. Balance it out. So far, no magic formulas beyond that. And we all need a lot less food than we think we do. *And my last point: * it all matters most during developmental years. The earlier you start, the better you are and more likely you are to keep it a lifestyle going forward.

All you can do is increase your odds, but never boost yourself into any protected circle by your actions. Healthy eaters will still get cancer, and unhealthy ones won’t. But the RATES at which the groups get cancer? I’d expect those to be very different. Nothing surprising.