Lycopene: Health Benefits and Top Food Sources




Lycopene is a plant nutrient with antioxidant properties. It’s the pigment that gives red and pink fruits, such as tomatoes, watermelons and pink grapefruit, their characteristic color.

Lycopene has been linked to health benefits ranging from heart health to protection against sunburns and certain types of cancers.Lycopene powder

This article looks at the health benefits and top food sources of lycopene.Lycopene is an antioxidant in the carotenoid family.Antioxidants protect your body from damage caused by compounds known as free radicals.

When free radical levels outnumber antioxidant levels, they can create oxidative stress in your body. This stress is linked to certain chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s (1).Research shows that lycopene’s antioxidant properties can help keep free radical levels in balance, protecting your body against some of these conditions (2).

In addition, test-tube and animal studies show that lycopene may protect your body against damage caused by pesticides, herbicides, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and certain types of fungi (3, 4, 5, 6).Lycopene’s strong antioxidant action may prevent or slow down the progression of some types of cancer.

For instance, test-tube studies show that the nutrient may slow down the growth of breast and prostate cancers by limiting tumor growth (7, 8).Animal studies further report that it may prevent the growth of cancer cells in the kidneys (9).

In humans, observational studies link high intakes of carotenoids, including lycopene, to a 32–50% lower risk of lung and prostate cancers (8, 10, 11).A 23-year study in more than 46,000 men looked at the link between lycopene and prostate cancer in more detail.

Men who consumed at least two servings of lycopene-rich tomato sauce per week were 30% less likely to develop prostate cancer than those who ate less than one serving of tomato sauce per month (12).

However, a recent review of 26 studies found more moderate results. Researchers linked high lycopene intakes to a 9% lower likelihood of developing prostate cancer. Daily intakes of 9–21 mg per day appeared most beneficial (13).Lycopene may also help lower your risk of developing or prematurely dying from heart disease (14).

That’s in part because it may reduce heart disease risk factors. More specifically, it may reduce free-radical damage, total and “bad” LDL cholesterol levels and increase “good” HDL cholesterol (15, 16).

High blood levels of lycopene may also add years to the lives of people with metabolic syndrome — a combination of health conditions that can lead to heart disease.Over a 10-year period, researchers noted that individuals with metabolic disease who had the highest blood lycopene levels had up to a 39% lower risk of dying prematurely (17).In another 10-year study, diets rich in this nutrient were linked to a 17–26% lower risk of heart disease. A recent review further associates high blood levels of lycopene with a 31% lower risk of stroke (18, 19).

Lycopene’s protective effects appear particularly beneficial to those with low blood antioxidant levels or high levels of oxidative stress. This includes older adults and people who smoke or have diabetes or heart disease (20).