Selenium may also protect against cancers and cardiovascular disease. Rosemary extract is increasingly under scrutiny for its antioxidant properties. Like other antioxidants, it inhibits and fights free radicals. Other animal studies have indicated a beneficial effect on the promotion of skin and mammary tumors. Lycopene, an antioxidant carotenoid found in abundance in tomatoes, has been found to be twice as effective as beta carotene and 100 times more effective than vitamin E in counteracting the free radical singlet oxygen.
Singlet oxygen is a dangerous free radical.
Lycopene first received attention when it was discovered that it significantly reduces the risk of developing prostate cancer. They are not only powerful individually, but also work together in what is known as antioxidant cycling. Antioxidant cycling is the term that describes how antioxidants work together to extend each others' lives and make each other more powerful. When the antioxidant vitamin E disables free radicals, it becomes a minor free radical. However, when vitamin C recycles vitamin E, it changes to a free radical.