Judy He

The Gold in Plants: Lycopene

We have known a lot about carotenes and vitamins. But we may unfamiliar to the name of lycopene. It is a universal kind of natural pigment. It exists in food we usually eat. Lycopene distributes in fruit such tomatoes, watermelons, pumpkins, peaches, guavas, mangoes and grapes and in roots like carrots and cabbage. The lycopene in tomatoes and tomato products is the most important source of carotenoids for western people. 

We have known a lot about carotenes and vitamins. But we may unfamiliar to the name of lycopene. It is a universal kind of natural pigment. It exists in food we usually eat. Lycopene distributes in fruit such tomatoes, watermelons, pumpkins, peaches, guavas, mangoes and grapes and in roots like carrots and cabbage. The lycopene in tomatoes and tomato products is the most important source of carotenoids for western people. It also exists in serum. More than 80% of the lycopene people ingest is from tomatoes. There is a small amount of this pigment in ordinary tomatoes. Most lycopene exists in lipoid substances around the seeds. As a result, drinking tomato juice or eating fresh tomatoes can only ingest little lycopene. To solve this problem, many pharmacy companies make great efforts to produce lycopene preparation. They develop capsules containing this pigment to help people’s ingestion. This pigment, as we all know, can be found in human organs as well. It has much to do with the life span. It can restrain the oxidation of protein and resist ultraviolet radiation. In one word, it is a quite promising natural pigment that attracts people’s eyes.

Lycopene is a useful antioxidant and is very effective and quite efficient in preventing and curing prostate cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer. It is also a protector of immune system and organs like heart. Someone names it the gold of the plants. It is also well received as a health care product. It is more powerful than vitamin E and bate-carotene in cleaning the human body. In the year of 2003, the Times ranked the healthy food and it became the champion. It is a kind of food making the greatest contribution to health. At present, it is welcomed by consumers from America, European countries and East Asian countries like Japan and China. It protects the DNA and efficiently restrains the pervasion and repetition of cancer cells. It does goods to the health of skin and immune system. Specifically, it eliminates the wrinkles and slows down the aging of organs and the skin.

According to scientists, this pigment has more than ten functions. It works well in preventing and resisting cancer. A recent experiment has indicated that the ingestion of 30 milligrams a day can prevent prostate cancer and alimentary cancer. The human body is not able to compose lycopene. As a result, people have to absorb it from food. It is said that a raw tomato can only provide 0.05 milligrams. The nutrition also is a guard for our heart and skin. Taking lycopene is more effective than taking bate-carotene. Most importantly, it has no side effects. Eating it in the long run is proper. 

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