healthy food : Tomato Cancer Cure
Based on the volume of consumption per person, tomato is the top source of Vitamin A and C in the western diet. It also contains a significant amount of dietary fiber, beta-carotene, iron, lycopene, magnesium, niacin, potassium, phosphorus, riboflavin and thiamine.
Tomato is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Unlike most foods, cooking or processing of tomato is beneficial to health because it increases its lycopene content (e.g. tomato paste, catsup, tomato soup, tomato sauce).
The tomato is not acid forming. It contains a great deal of citric acid but is alkaline forming when it enters the bloodstream. It increases the alkalinity of the blood and helps remove toxins, especially uric acid, from the system. As a liver cleanser, tomatoes are wonderful, especially when used with green vegetable juices.
Eating tomatoes regularly may reduce the risk of prostate and several other cancers. Published research from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health have shown that eating tomatoes and tomato products may help men reduce the risk of prostate cancer. It is also found that tomatoes are useful for those who are already diagnosed with prostate cancer. Increased tomato consumption was found to be associated with a much less aggressive prostate cancer in men who were diagnosed with the disease. Tomatoes may also reduce the risk for other types of cancers including lung, stomach, pancreatic, breast, cervical, colorectal, oral, and esophageal cancers.
Both red and green tomatoes have anti-cancer properties due to lycopene (red tomatoes) and tomatine (green tomatoes). However, in a review the FDA conducted regarding the cancer fighting potential of tomatoes in 2005, it was revealed that there was “very limited evidence” to support any association between tomato consumption and reduced risks of prostate, gastric, and pancreatic cancers. As for the believed cancer-fighting effects of lycopene the FDA said there was “no credible evidence” to suggest that the chhemical could reduce the risk of such cancers of the prostate, lung, colon, breast, ovaries or pancreas.