So let’s rewind a little and start again. Do you know why tomatoes have that deep red color? Lycopene is the answer. Lycopene is tomato plant’s pigment that produces the vegetable’s ultra deep and ultra rich red color. But what we really need to know is that this pigment is an aid in the biosynthesis of many carotenoids, including beta carotene. Now, if you have been reading this blog you may remember I mentioned beta carotene when I wrote about Vitamin A, the miracle. The point of that article was to stress that vitamin A is a retinoid which -through one of its most usable forms called retinol A- finds its way into topical creams that help rejuvenate the skin. So now we can put it altogether and say that given Lycopene’s association to beta carotene one of it’s most important functions is its antioxidant activity.

Antioxidant activity is a critical area that has a strong correlation to our overall health. Although the FDA has declared there is not enough evidence to conclusively state that eating tomatoes may prevent certain forms of cancer, there is some anecdotal evidence that tomatoes indeed may provide many health benefits. Officially, however, the FDA (2005) has authorized dealers to only state a very narrow claim in regards to possible health benefits (very limited and preliminary scientific research suggests that eating one-half to one cup of tomatoes and/or tomato sauce a week may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. FDA concludes that there is little scientific evidence supporting this claim.)

In spite of this, the general consensus is that tomatoes -specially cooked and crushed ones served in oil-rich foods such as pastas, which greatly increases assimilation from the digestive tract into the bloodstream as Lycopene is fat-soluble-, confer tissue-protecting ability via Lycopene (antioxidant) which is easily absorbed into our skin cells. This is the opinion of Debra Jaliman who has specialized in anti-aging treatments and currently heads a New York City dermatology practice and is also an Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. She also believes that the health benefits associated with Lycopene ingestion may last for months. “It improves skin texture and its overall health” she stated in a recent interview.

To conclude I would like to quote some information found at wikipedia that highlights the importance of Lycopene when it comes to its antioxidant properties: “Lycopene may be the most powerful carotenoid quencher of singlet oxygen, being 100 times more efficient in test tube studies of singlet-oxygen quenching action than vitamin E, which in turn has 125 times the quenching action of glutathione. Singlet oxygen produced during exposure to ultraviolet light is a primary cause of skin aging.”

And now the final bonus: tomatoes are not alone! There are other fruits and vegetables that are high in lycopene as well. A short list:

Gac
Watermelon
Pink grapefruit
Pink guava
Papaya
Red bell pepper
Seabuckthorn
Wolfberry
Rosehip.