What is Lycopene?
farmeric January 20th, 2009
I was having a sumptuous breakfast this morning when I saw this catsup bottle in front of me with this information about Lycopene. I was intrigued with all the nutrition written on the label that we can get in eating tomatoes.
So what is Lycopene?
Lycopene is a from a family of carotenoids. A pigment that comes naturally from vegetables and fruits. It is this pigment that makes tomatoes red. It can also be found in watermelon.
Did you know that watermelon has more lycopene than a tomato? In an average, a watermelon has 40% more lycopene!
Sources of Lycopene
Our body doesn’t produce lycopene on it’s own. We need to eat foods rich in lycopone in order for our body to get the antioxidant benefits. The good news is, there’s a lot of sources we can get enough lycopene.
As mentioned above, fruits and vegetables that are high in lycopene include tomatoes, watermelon, guava, papaya and other red fruits.
Another good news is that Tomato products, including ketchup, tomato juice, and pizza sauce, are very rich source of lycopene. And did you know that tomato products are far more richer in Lycopene than fresh tomato? And these products are better absorbed by the body too. This is because cooking breaks down cell walls, releasing and concentrating carotenoids.
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