Lycopene: An Antioxidant With Many Benefits (NAPSA)—Have you had your lycopene today? F i If you’ve consumed any tomato, watermelon, guava or pink grapefruit, then you have indeed had a taste of this powerful carotenoid, an antioxidant that has been shown to reduce therisk of cancer and heart disease, and protect against sun damage. However, according to the United States Departmentof Agri- culture, more than 80 percent of Americans do not eat the recom- mended five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, thus they could be depriving themselves of lycopene’s benefits. Fortunately for those who don’t eat foods rich in lycopene, it is also possible to get the recommended amountofit (three to six milligrams a day) through a dietary supplement that contains lycopene. One medium-sized tomato contains about 4.25 milligrams of lycopene. Unlike many other nutrients which are destroyed or lost in the cooking process, lyco- pene actually becomes more acces- sible when tomatoes are processed and/or cooked with oil. So pizza, ketchup and spaghetti sauce may provide even more of it than raw tomatoes. A study of 1,379 men found that those who consumed a lyco- pene-rich diet were half as likely to suffer a heart attack as those with little or no lycopene in their diet. Plus, it is believed that low levels of lycopene may play a role in the development of artery dis- ease. In addition to the heart- related benefits of lycopene, stud- ies have linked the antioxidant to reduced risk of prostate, breast, digestive tract, colon, rectum, stomach, lung andcervical cancer. Further, lycopene, which gives tomatoes their rich red color, can help keep people from seeing red—on their skin. It can protect the skin from exposure to the sun. Specifically, in the short term it provides a sun protection factor of between two and four from the inside, and in the long term can protect the skin from damage caused by ultraviolet rays, which maylead to cancer. To learn more about the long- term health benefits of lycopene and other antioxidants, visit wuww.freshstarts.com, an interactive Web site for adults, teachers and children. Additional informa- tion is also available through BASF Corporation’s Team Antioxidant poster/brochure. For a free copy of this educational poster/brochure, send your name and address to “Team Antioxi- dant: Because Your Body is a Battleground,” 3550 Young Place, Lynchburg, VA 24501.
