The Anti Cancer Food

Tomatoes - The Anti-Cancer Food
Eating vegetables and fruits is the best way of ensuring a healthy life. There are many vegetables, which besides being tasty and nutritious, enhance the immune system of your body. Tomato is one such vegetable, which is an anti-cancer agent.
CUTS RISK OF CANCER
Researchers have come up with studies, which suggest that eating tomatoes would subsequently lower the risk of cancer. The pigment called lycopene prevents cancer. This pigment is released when the vegetable is cooked.Lycopene is the element, which gives the red colour to tomatoes. The redder the tomato, more the lycopene. Tomatoes, which are green or yellow in colour, do not contain this element.
Lycopene provides all the protective qualities of the tomato. This element is also found in other fruits like watermelon and pink grapefruit.
It is a very common myth that raw tomatoes are healthier when compared to cooked ones. As mentioned earlier the cancer preventing lycopene pigment is released only when tomatoes are cooked and processed. Hence, when raw the pigment is not released and the body cannot absorb it.
As lycopene is fat-soluble, a certain amount of fat in the food helps in the absorption of this element. Besides this tomato has high nutritive value. It contains vitamins like vitamin A, C and potassium. Tomatoes are also considered as fruits. They are excellent when used in soups and curries.