Tomatoes, a common recipe ingredient, have certain health benefits too, reveals a recent study.
Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, an anti oxidant. Lycopene is not only responsible for the redness of the vegetable but also reduces chances of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. The study was conducted by a group of researchers at Rutgers University.
Obesity is one of the risk factors in breast cancer. Postmenopausal women with a high body mass index are at more risk. According to the researchers, tomatoes rich in lycopene help in regulating the hormones that control fat and sugar metabolism in body.
"The advantages of eating plenty of tomatoes and tomato-based products, even for a short period, were clearly evident in our findings," said Adana Llanos, who led the study, in the press release. "Eating fruits and vegetables, which are rich in essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals such as lycopene, conveys significant benefits. Based on this data, we believe regular consumption of at least the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables would promote breast cancer prevention in an at-risk population."
The researchers prescribed both tomato and soya-rich diet to 70 postmenopausal women. For the first ten weeks the participants were on a regular tomato-rich diet containing nearly 25 grams of lycopene. For another 10 weeks the same participants followed a soya-rich diet (40 grams of soya protein) on a daily basis.
Before the tests, the volunteers were asked to abstain from tomatoes and soya for a period of two weeks.
The tomato-rich diet resulted in an increase in adiponectins by 9 percent, the hormone responsible for controlling sugar and fat metabolism. The results were better in women with lower BMI, reveals the study published in the latest Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism."The findings demonstrate the importance of obesity prevention," Llanos said.
The researchers have emphasized on tomatoes because of easy availability. It is the fourth most popular vegetable in the U.S., reports RTTnews. In the U.S. breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women.
