By Allison Kaplan Sommer   January 30, 2005

Lycocenes and other family members found in vegetables like tomatoes are
the most active when it comes to turning on the antioxidant response
system.
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Ben-Gurion University of the Negev 
 
If you are looking for a reason to eat more pizza and pasta topped with
lots of tomato sauce, you can thank Israeli researchers for providing
great justification.
Scientists at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have identified why it
is good for us to consume large quantities of tomatoes - and say that
the best way to eat them is cooked up with some olive oil and cheese.
Scientists have long believed that the carotenoids found in fruits and
vegetables have a cancer preventive effect. In particular, studies have
found that as the consumption of tomato products increases, risk of
certain types of cancer decreases - even more so than when a variety of
vegetables are eaten. Over the years, studies have found that the risk
of up to ten different types of cancer can be reduced by eating
tomatoes. The preventative effect is due to the lycopen, the
phytonutrient which gives tomatoes their red color.
What has been a relative mystery until now is precisely why this
happens. But the BGU scientists are well on the way to discovering the
precise mechanism that would explain this relationship between tomato
consumption and cancer prevention.
In a study published in the January 2005 issue of Molecular Cancer
Therapeutics, Dr. Yoav Sharoni and Dr. Joseph Levy discuss how
carotenoids, well known for their antioxidant activity, also act to
prevent cancer by stimulating the body's antioxidant response element.
Lycocenes, which comes from lycopen, is a member of the carotenoid
family.
Stimulation of the antioxidant response element is an established
mechanism for the mobilization of the body's defense system against
carcinogens and other harmful compounds.
"Luckily, we have an established system in our body to fight carcinogens
and toxins. This system is the anti-oxidant response elements, Levy told
ISRAEL21c.
"Put simply - when you have toxins or carcinogens attacking the cells,
our bodies turn on this system. It produces a lot of enzymes which
convert these toxins and carcinogens - that can cause DNA mutations that
lead to cancer - to less toxic forms by expelling them from the body
through urination."
"What is new is that we have shown that the lycocenes and other family
members, are the most active when it comes to turning on this
antioxidant response system. Our study is focused on the mechanism of
how carotenoids like lycopen successfully activate this known protective
system in our body which produces the enzymes - we have found clearly
that they activate this system. This is the mechanism which prevents
cancer."
The clear message this research points to: Eat lots of vegetables, and
particularly tomatoes. Levy says that the research clearly shows that
the so-called Mediterranean diet is superior to a meat-and-potatoes
regimen when it comes to maintaining health, and recommends that people
consider drastically increasing their vegetable consumption.
"If you can, incorporate between five to nine portions of fruits and
vegetables in your daily diet," he said.
Surprisingly, that doesn't necessarily mean consuming piles of salad.
Many people believe instinctually that vegetables like tomatoes are best
eaten raw for maximum benefits. But Levy says the research points
otherwise.
"Many of these materials are not soluble in water, so they are badly
absorbed in our gut when eaten raw and by themselves. You have to take
them with some fat, some cheese or oil in salad and more of that. If you
cook them, they are very stable, and if you cook them with some oil and
have them as sauce or soup they are better absorbed than raw tomatoes,"
he said.
Levy holds the Irving Isaac Sklar Chair In Endocrinology and Cancer at
BGU. He is a Professor in the university's Clinical Biochemistry
Department Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University, and acts
as the Head of the Endocrine Laboratory at Soroka Medical Center.
His research partner, Sharoni is also a Professor in the Department of
Clinical Biochemistry, and is the past chairman of the department. Their
work has received grant support from agencies including Chief Scientists
of the Israeli Ministry of Health, European Community, Cap Cure, as well
as from pharmaceutical and nutraceutical corporations.
  

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