Lycopene is a powerfull antioxidant. It makes tomatoes red. It is soluble in oils and insoluble in water. Lycopene is easily absorbed by the organism and is naturally present in human plasma and tissues in higher concentrations than the other carotenoids.
Lycopene may be the most powerful carotenoid quencher of singlet oxygen, being 100 times more efficient in test tube studies of singlet-oxygen quenching action than vitamin E, which in turn has 125 times the quenching action of glutathione (water soluble). Singlet oxygen produced during exposure to ultraviolet light is a primary cause of skin aging.Ongoing preliminary research suggests that lycopene is associated with reduced risk of macular degenerative disease, serum lipid oxidation and cancers of the lung, bladder, cervix and skin.
Antioxidants are so important for many reasons, especially in a world where processed food has eliminated most of what gives your body the ability to prevent and fight disease. Lycopene is an antioxidant that might as well be worth its weight in gold for the incredible things from which it protects your body.
