With nearly 10,000 deaths from prostate cancer in the UK alone, it accounts for around 13% of male deaths from the disease there. This second most common cause of cancer death in men — after lung cancer – can perhaps no longer be lowered by that spicy ketchup – the popularly held notion as also been approved by the FDA.
Yes, it’s a heart-braking news for the ketchup or tomato lovers. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and National Cancer Institute, after conducting a large study said that the antioxidants in tomatoes, claimed to prevent prostate cancer, appears to be false!
With tomatoes found high in lycopenes – the natural dietary cancer-fighting compound – led the Food and Drug Administration to allow H.J. Heinz Co. — the world’s largest tomato-based product maker — to advertise:
The risk of prostate cancer may be reduced by eating just 1/2 to 1 cup of tomatoes — such as a single serving of Classico{+®} pasta sauce — per week.
But, the new study found no positive association between high levels of the antioxidants and lower rates of prostate cancer. The scientists rather found that men with high blood levels of lycopenes – after eating lots of tomato products — were suffering from the most aggressive prostate cancer form!
To add to, Ulrike Peters, a Fred Hutchinson scientist and lead author on the report, said
It was an hypothesis based on observational studies and the fact that cancer can be caused by oxidative damage to DNA.
The study is published in the current journal of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
And, if you are a ketchup lover, and had all reasons to have more tomatoes these days, you might need to rethink on your prostate cancer risk.
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