Ive written a lot about lycopene in the past year or so. Researchers have found it protects against a lot of different health challenges, including prostate disease, eye problems, and circulation issues. Now you can add asthma to the list.
In a new study, researchers gave an extract of lycopene to 32 asthmatic subjects. They found that it reduced their inflammatory markers in their sputum.
First, the researchers fed the subjects a diet low in lycopene and antioxidants for 10 days. Their asthma worsened, as did their biochemical markers for inflammation. Their plasma levels of carotenoids (lycopene is a carotenoid) fell.
After taking the tomato extract containing 45 mg daily of lycopene, or tomato juice containing 45 mg daily of lycopene for seven days, inflammatory white blood cell activity improved.
I just love tomatoes. When they are in season, Ill eat at least three beefsteak tomatoes a day. If you cant get fresh tomatoes and think that you could benefit from lycopene, there are excellent supplements on the market and online. One of my favorites is Lyc-O-Mato®. One capsule has 15 mg of lycopene. It has no genetically modified organisms in it. And it contains whole tomato nutrients in addition to lycopene. Take one, three times daily to get the 45 mg lycopene the researchers used.
Ref: Wood, L.G., M.L Garg, et al. Lycopene-rich treatmentsmodify noneosinophilic airway inflammation inasthma: proof of concept, Free Radic Res, 2008; 42(1): 94-102.