How Tomatoes May Fight Cancer

The role of tomatoes in preventing prostate cancer received a boost in 2002 with the publication of results from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. However, there have been controversial reports since then, refuting the claims that lycopene – the likely active ingredient of tomatoes – has a cancer-preventing action. The most recent entry in this controversy comes from a report in the journal Cancer Research.

Scientists at the University of Missouri processed tomatoes by dehydration and then extracted a substance they call FruHis; this is a D-fructose amino-acid that was found to protect against DNA damage known to lead to prostate cancer. FruHis is a ‘super antioxidant’ that may prove to be likely agent in tomatoes that can offer protection against prostate cancer in men. At any rate, it works pretty well in rats.

To play safe, I suggest you eat plenty of tomatoes after they have been cooked or processed – as ketchup, stewed, as a paste, or on pizza. That way you’ll get any other benefits of tomato-containing substances that haven’t been discovered yet, as well as some variety in your taste experiences . . .