Diet and Cancer

TOMATOES and CancerWhy should I be concerned about cancer?Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the US. It kills 1 out of every 4 Americans each year.

How is diet related to cancer?Diet may be linked to as much as one-third of all cancer cases in the US. Recent research has shown that components of plant foods called phytochemicals may decrease cancer risk.

What are phytochemicals?“Phyto” comes from the Greek word for plant. Phytochemicals are natural parts of plants that may help prevent chronic diseases like cancer.

How do tomato foods decrease cancer risk?Tomatoes are red because they contain lycopene, a phytochemical that may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Tomato paste is the richest source of lycopene because pasting releases lycopene. You absorb lycopene better if you cook your tomato foods with oil.

FAST FACTS...The scientific term for tomato is “lycopersicon,” meaning “wolf peach”.

There are more than 10,000 varieties of the tomato!

The tomato is a cousin of the eggplant, potato, and red pepper.

Never refrigerate fresh tomatoes because cold temperatures reduce taste!

68% of chefs use canned tomatoes for quality, convenience, and consistency.

TOMATOES in YOUR diet...Include several servings of tomato foods per week. One serving is 1/2 cup of canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, pizza sauce, or tomato soup and 3/4 cup of tomato juice.

Prepared by J. Lynne Brown, Ph.D., R. D.Associate Professor Food Science

The Pennsylvania State University 2004 c Layout and Design by Dave Varley

College of Agricultural SciencesAgricultural Research and Cooperative Extension

Tomato Foods Vitamin C mg/ serving*

*Average milligrams per 1/2 cup tomato food

Tomato, fresh, cooked, 27 1/2 cup Tomato, canned, 1/2 cup 19Tomato soup, 1/2 cup 18Tomato sauce, 1/2 cup 16Pizza sauce, 1/2 cup 12