Unlock the Power of Lycopene - Softcover

Yeung, David; Rao, Venket

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0966099176 ISBN 13: 9780966099171

Publisher: Arpr Inc, 2001

Synopsis

"Unlock the Power of Lycopene" explores how lycopene, powerful antioxidant abundant in red tomatoes, may help prevent prostate cancer, some other forms of cancer, heart disease and other ailments. In addition to exploring the latest research, "Unlock the Power of Lycopene" inclues a wealth of interesting information about tomatoes, plus recipes, all in a reader-friendly format.

About this title

About the Author

David Yeung, Ph.D., is the Director, Corporate Nutrition, H.J. Heinz Company. He received his doctorate degree from the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.

Dr. Yeung was an associate professor in Applied Human Nutrition at the University of Guelph, Ontario, before joining the H.J. Heinz Company of Canada. Dr. Yeuing remains academically active. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, and has been an adjunct and honorary professor in universities in Canada and the People's Republic of China.

Dr. Yeung has published extensively in refereed scientific journals, and he has served on numerous scientific committees in Canada and the U.S.

Dr. Yeung also has extensive international experience. He has established nutrition education programs in Australia, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Poland, Spain, Thailand and Russia. He has served as consultant to the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO), the Micronutrients Initiatives(MI) and the U.S. Agency for International Development(USAID).

In 1997, Dr. Yeung received the Earle Willard McHenry Award from the Canadian Society of Nutritional Sciences in distinguished service in nutrition.

Venket Rao, Ph.D., obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Science from Oregon State University. Dr. Rao is a full professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. He also is the Director of the Program in Food Safety. He is a member of the Canadian Federation of Biological Sciences, the Society of Toxicology of Canada and the Bifidous Foundation of Japan.

Dr. Rao's research has established a major focus in the area of diet and cancer with particular emphasis on the role of phytochemicals in human nutrition and health. More recently, he has been investigating the role of oxidative stress and antioxidants in the causation and prevention of chronic diseases. He has studied the role of tomatoes and lycopene in human health extensively and has delivered lectures on this topic nationally and internationally. He has published extensively in scientific journals and participated in many national and international scientific conferences.

Dr. Rao is a member of the Provincial and National Expert Committtees in Canada in the areas of food safety and agriculture. He is a member of the National Steering Committee to develop policy guidelines for the Safety of Raw Foods of Animal Origin. He is very active in the Department of Nutritional Sciences as a teacher, research supervisor and as the Undergraduate Coordinator of the Nutritional Sciences Specialist Program at the University of Toronto. He is frequently sought after by the international media for commentary on the subjects of food safety, nutrition and health.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Scientists are gathering more and more information about the potential health benefits of lycopene, a substance that makes tomatoes red and may help prevent many diseases. To understand lycopene, we need to look first at the growing evidence that diet plays a crucial role in fighting disease.

We live in an age of medical miracles-but some of the most powerful aids to your health can be found in your garden or in the processed foods in your refrigerator. Even as doctors build high-tech devices and discover powerful new drugs, other researchers are finding more and more evidence that a healthy lifestyle, with a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, may be able to prevent and even fight serious diseases. That's right: a dinner of spaghetti with marinara sauce and a side of broccoli might be a step forward in keeping your heart and blood vessels healthy; adding an orange and a glass of tomato juice to your lunch might be part of a healthy lifestyle that can help you fight cancer.

That's because diet, combined with other lifestyle habits, may play a major role in preventing disease. You may have heard of the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, and olive oil and low in saturated fat. Research has shown that such a diet may help cut the risk of heart disease. Much research is showing that similar health benefits are associated with other healthy diets.

By some estimates, a better diet combined with a healthier lifestyle (such as getting regular exercise) could cut the number of cancer cases by one-third and also might reduce the number of heart attacks.

Although health experts agree that much serious work remains to be done in this vital and complex subject, diet and other lifestyle factors may play a role in dozens of diseases, including many of the deadliest. Today a number of major American health organizations are on record as saying that a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, as part of a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise and other common sense steps, seems to be linked to a reduced risk of disease. These organizations include;
The American Cancer Sociey
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Serivices
The National Cancer Institute
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The American Heart Association
The American Medical Association

"You are what you eat," many parents have told their children. And, as in so many other things, they were right! The difference today is that scientists are discovering additional ways fruits and vegetables help fight disease. Scientists are still researching those benefits, and they don't have all the answers yet. But in the meantime, we can take advantage of what we do know and enjoy the fruits and vegetables we have always loved. One way to think of it is to brighten your plate with delicious fruits and vegetables. One of the best is the tomato. When you "REDefine" your diet, all you have to do is add the bright red of the tomato to your table. This can be in salads, juices, sauces, and literally hundreds of other dishes and recipes.

To understand why, we need to understand "functional foods."

Disease-Fighting Foods

Functional foods are broadly defined as foods that, in addition to meeting nutritional needs, may supply other health benefits. One example of functional food is calcium-fortified orange juice. The calcium is thought to be of benefit in preventing osteoporosis. However, foods might also be considered "functional foods." For example, regular orange juice is full of Vitamin C, and that in itself has health benefits. There is some evidence that some functional foods may help fight four of the leading causes of death: cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Functional foods also may play a role in fighting depression, arthritis, osteoporosis and other diseases.

Fruits and vegetables are natural functional foods because they are full of phytochemicals, a word that simply means "plant chemicals." Phytochemicals are natural plant substances that perform a number of functions, including protecting some plants from disease. Scientific research suggests that some phytochemicals also may help protect our bodies from disease. There are thousands of phytochemicals, some of which have been used for hundreds of years as medicines, such as quinine for malaria and digitalis for heart conditions.

Scientists have especially studied one group of phytochemicals: the antioxidants. Antioxidants may play a role in fighting many diseases, including cancer, heart disease, age-related macular degeneration, diabetes and osteoporosis. If we take a close look at antioxidants, we'll understand how tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables might be able to help fight disease.

Edition details

• Publisher: Arpr Inc
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0966099176
• ISBN 13: 9780966099171
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 82