The health benefits from eating tomatoes is a present hot topic of interest. Researchers have known for a while that there is a substance in tomatoes that is very beneficial to our health. A family which has been proven to be a powerful antioxidant, and defender against heart disease. It is also found in other foods, but tomatoes contain the largest amount. These are what give plants their color, odor, flavor, and natural defense against plant diseases.
Phytochemicals can also protect humans against a variety of diseases.
Lycopene appears to be one of the better-equipped phytochemicals to accomplish this protection. Researchers have already linked eating significant amounts of lycopene to a reduced risk of developing some types of cancer. Recently, a new study of 1,387 European men shows that the men who consumed the most lycopene from foods were only half as likely to suffer a heart attack as those who consumed the least lycopene. Researchers are cautiously optimistic since lycopene may prove not to be the substance responsible for the disease-fighting effect it seems to exert. Instead, the benefits could come from a different substance, as yet identified, that is present along with lycopene.