What’s the best source of lycopene?
In a word, tomatoes. Tomatoes that are ripened on the vine contain more lycopene than tomatoes that are picked green and then ripened. Even more importantly, cooked tomato products have higher available levels of lycopene than those in raw form because cooking breaks down cell walls, releasing lycopene. And your body absorbs lycopene even more easily if the tomatoes have been cooked in olive oil.1 So next time you’re cooking tomato sauce, don’t hesitate to pour in some olive oil. But despite Americans’ love affair with Southern Italian food, it’s a challenge to get the optimal amount of lycopene you need to enjoy its health benefits. Believe it or not, some people are allergic to tomatoes, others find that tomatoes and tomato sauces don’t agree with them and cause indigestion. Still others simply don’t like the taste of tomatoes and are missing out on their health benefits. Lastly, to get enough lycopene to truly ensure you get the protection that it offers, you’d have to eat tomato-ba
