Which of the following do you think most efficiently delivers lycopene to the body: a fresh, raw tomato; a tomato pasta sauce; or a lycopene supplement? If you don’t already know, the answer may surprise you.

To begin with, it’s almost always better to get your nutrients through foods, rather than swallowing a supplement. Lycopene’s effectiveness as a possible prostate cancer inhibitor may be due to the fact that it works synergistically with other compounds in the foods where it’s found. If you take lycopene on its own as a supplement—as some doctors today recommend—you may lose some of the health benefits. Also keep in mind that foods provide a whole range of nutrients, and more cheaply than a daily supplement.


In what foods do I find lycopene?

Tomatoes and tomato products are the best source of lycopene, and the darker red the tomato, the more lycopene it contains—yellow and green tomatoes contain less. And it seems that all the studies agree on two things: (1) more lycopene is absorbed by the body from cooked tomato products rather than raw  tomatoes; and (2) cooking tomatoes with olive oil seems to improve lycopene absorption, since lycopene is fat soluble.

Other foods that provide lycopene, but to a lesser degree, are watermelon, papaya, pink grapefruit, guava, and apricot. (I usually start my day with a bowl of freshly cut up watermelon and papaya, topped with small cubes of firm tofu.)

Aim for about 25 to 30 mg of lycopene a day, and you will be doing yourself a favor. To help with your meal planning, the following list shows you how much lycopene there is an average serving size of popular tomato products, as well as in some other sources. The amounts of lycopene are approximate, and will vary depending on the method of analysis and the ripeness of the tomatoes used, the time of year, where the tomatoes are grown, and a host of other variables. And as with all medical and dietary issues, consult with your doctor

Product                                  Serving Size    Lycopene (milligrams)

Sun-dried tomatoes in oil          1/4 cup                  47
Spaghetti/marinara sauce         1/2 cup                  20
Tomato sauce                             1/2 cup                  19
Tomato-based vegetable juice   3/4 cup                  17
Tomatoes, canned                      1/2 cup                  11
Tomato puree                             1/4 cup                   10
Tomato paste                             2 tablespoons         9
Tomato ketchup                         2 tablespoons         5
Tomato, raw                               1 large                     6
Tomato, raw                              1/2 cup chopped      2.7
Papaya                                      1 cup, cubed               5
Pink grapefruit                         1/2 medium                 2
Watermelon                             11/2 cups, cubed        14

If you start each day with an 8-ounce glass of tomato juice and have a couple of dinners a week that include a vegetarian tomato-based chili or a pasta with tomato sauce or a fish with a tomato-based sauce, you’re well on your way to increasing your lycopene intake, naturally.


Other possible lyocpene benefits

In addition to possibly reducing the risk of prostate cancer and slowing the growth of prostate cancer cells themselves, some researchers believe that lycopene may have the same effect on cancers of the lung, stomach, bladder, cervix, and skin, as well as lowering the risk of heart disease and macular degenerative disease, and lowering LDL or the bad cholesterol. In addition to the old proverb, “An apple a day . . . ,”  perhaps we might add the mantra, “A tomato a day keeps the oncologist away.”