Lycopene: This Powerful Antioxidant Offers Some Amazing Health Benefits: Know More About This Nutrient

What is Lycopene? Lycopene is a tiny plant-based nutrient with numerous health benefits. Lycopene has strong antioxidant properties. Antioxidants protect your body from damage caused by compounds known as free radicals. When free radical levels outnumber the antioxidant levels, they can create oxidative stress in your body which may have a negative impact on your health. This stress is linked to a number of chronic diseases, such as cancer, increase in blood sugar levels, heart disease and brain related issues such as Alzheimer’s. The powerful antioxidant lycopene is also found in cell membranes and plays an important role in maintaining the cell's integrity when it is under assault by toxins. Lycopene is generally considered safe and beneficial especially when it is obtained from your diet. It is only in a few rare cases, eating very high amounts of lycopene-rich foods can lead to a skin discoloration known as lycopenodermia.

Top benefits of lycopene you should know:

1. Prostate Cancer:

Prostate cancer is known to be the top three cancers in men. Prostate cancer can be possibly prevented by a healthy intake of lycopene. For people who already suffer from prostate cancer and face removal of the prostate, a lycopene rich diet is prescribed at least two to three weeks before the surgery to reduce and control cancer remission and cancer cell proliferation.

Prostate cancer is known to be the top three cancer in men.
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Also read: Prostate Cancer: 7 Important Risk Factors Of Prostate Cancer

2. Improved heart health

Lycopene rich foods like tomatoes and red cabbage might help might decrease the risk associated with panic attacks and stroke. The antioxidant properties of lycopene protects you by inhibiting the formation of blood clots, which is the primary reason behind strokes. As an added benefit, lycopene also has anti inflammatory effect on the blood vessels inside the brain, which acts as a protection against stroke. Additionally, the nutrient lycopene helps in maintaining a low blood pressure and prevents against coronary heart disease.

The nutrient lycopene helps in maintaining a low blood pressure
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Also read: 7 Natural Cholesterol Reducers For A Healthy Heart

3. Keep your eyes healthy:

Lycopene protects your eyes from oxidative stress that causes common eye diseases, making it one of the strongest eye vitamins you can consume. Lycopene may even have the ability to prevent or delay cataracts to a certain extent. Lycopene also has a great effect on the chemical processes that lead to age-related macular degeneration which is the leading cause of blindness in the old age. 

Also read: Can You Treat Conjunctivitis At Home? Some Quick Home Remedies For Pink Eye

4. Keep your bones strong:

Vitamin K and calcium are not the only things that promote bone density. The nutrient lycopene helps in relieving oxidative stress in bones that cause brittle and weak bones. It slows the apoptosis (cell death) that weakens the bones and reinforces the cellular architecture of bones thereby keeping them healthy and strong.

Foods that are rich sources of Lycopene:

• Tomato
• Red cabbage
• Watermelon
• Papaya
• Guava
• Grape fruit
• Mango
• Asparagus
• Grape fruit
• Carrots
• Sweet red peppers

Watermelon is a good source of lycopene
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Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.