Lycopene Linked to Reduction in Fibroid Tumors

[Guest guest]

Lycopene Linked to Reduction in Fibroid Tumors

Monday April 19, 6:02 am ET

Study Presented at Experimental Biology Meeting Shows Promise for Women

WASHINGTON, April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Lycopene, the antioxidant found

in tomatoes that gives them their red color, may be able to reduce the

size and incidence of fibroid tumors based on an animal study

presented today at the annual Experimental Biology meeting being held

here this week. Fibroid tumors, also known as leiomyomas or myomas,

are benign tumors of the uterus that affect millions of women.

read the rest here:

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040419/nym030_1.html

Note from Carla: For a solid 10 years prior to getting my fibroids

removed I craved tomatoes and ate them daily. Physically craved them

-- along with broccoli and fresh spinach -- and typically ate 2-3

tomatoes per day. Since getting my fibroids removed, the cravings

have completely disappeared.

BTW, is this news (from above) REALLY new " news " ?

http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc97/7_19_97/food.htm

I've said it before and I'll say it again...prostate cancer research

on dietary influences may well be applicable to women with fibroids

and deserves further review and study.

[Guest guest]

But explain to me how all the women on the italian side of the family

have fibroids then. We eat a heck of a lot of tomatoes -- far above

the national average I'm sure.

My acupuncturist told me that fibroids on the right side of the

uterus match up with the pathway for grief in the body -- maybe I

(and the other women in my family) just have too much grief which

overtakes the benefits of all those tomatoes?

hee hee

Ann

Lycopene, the antioxidant found

> in tomatoes that gives them their red color, may be able to reduce

the size and incidence of fibroid tumors based on an animal study

[Guest guest]

> But explain to me how all the women on the italian side of the family

> have fibroids then. We eat a heck of a lot of tomatoes -- far above

> the national average I'm sure.

the study only said it REDUCED the number of fibroids/symptoms....and,

actually, there have been several dietary studies (out of Italy, I

believe!) which have shown the same thing for men with prostate cancer

and women with fibroids...

Imagine, if you will, just how bad your fibroids would have been

WITHOUT all that tomato consumption! oh, and for those of you who eat

a lot of watermelon...it is also high in lycopene...

Check out this dietary database for more info:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/

Ann, I ate so many tomatoes and tomato products when I had fibroids, I

can't even imagine how much worse my symptoms MIGHT have been without

it! sheesh. I don't know...

more info:

http://www.inhousepharmacy.com/mens-health/prostate-article1.html

Hmmmm, I wonder...instead of propping up the beef & dairy industry

with the USDA food pyrimid (and public $$$)...if the government is

going to subsidize and support farmers, why isn't it doing so to a

greater degree for specific fruits/vegetables that are continually

showing up in health studies as being potentially disease

preventative? A lot of brouhaha about obesity in the media...but the

farm subsidies are being spent on what, precisely?

[Guest guest]

Maybe instead of meetups we should have pasta night. And in the

summer we will all partake of watermelon in fibroid reducing picnics!

>

> the study only said it REDUCED the number of

fibroids/symptoms....and,

> actually, there have been several dietary studies (out of Italy, I

> believe!) which have shown the same thing for men with prostate

cancer

> and women with fibroids...

>

> Imagine, if you will, just how bad your fibroids would have been

> WITHOUT all that tomato consumption! oh, and for those of you who

eat

> a lot of watermelon...it is also high in lycopene...

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/19/2004 4:02:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

cdionne@... writes:

Imagine, if you will, just how bad your fibroids would have been

WITHOUT all that tomato consumption! oh, and for those of you who eat

a lot of watermelon...it is also high in lycopene...

Hi, Everyone:

Like Carla and like Ann.......I am--- and have ALWAYS, ALWAYS been--- a big

consumer of tomatoes. I've certainly eaten a lot of 'em--nearly every single

day of my life.

Hell, I ate so many tomatoes and tomato products growing up, they even named

a tomato after me!!! [The " Roma " , also known as the Italian plum tomato! :-)]

And yet, and yet.....like Carla and Ann, lifelong lycopene didn't lessen or

limit MY large leiomyomas!!!

I don't know what the other LOL make of this lycopene study....but I think

this particular research....IS FOR THE BIRDS!!!!! (Literally!!!--for the

Japanese birds--the ones they used in the study!!!)

So let's see......these researchers thought Japanese quail were excellent

subjects in which to study fibroid tumors and found the bird oviduct to be

.... " an organ similar to the human uterus. "

Oh, puleeeeeze!!! A oviduct is an egg-making tube---so just HOW SIMILAR can

that be that to the human uterus???? To me, that's quite a stretch!

Animal studies are interesting, and of course, precede human clinical trials.

But, oh, what a big leap from in vitro (test tube)... to animal studies.....

to that which is proven in controlled HUMAN studies! Some stuff is just gonna

be unique to a given species......

So.....Does a tomato a day keep the fibroids away?????????

ly, from my own experience, (and Carla's and Ann's) I think that's utter

" BULL..uh.....finch " !!!*

-Roma

(*in keeping with the " bird research " theme)

[Guest guest]

> In a message dated 4/19/2004 4:02:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

> cdionne@e... writes:

> Imagine, if you will, just how bad your fibroids would have been

> WITHOUT all that tomato consumption! oh, and for those of you who eat

> a lot of watermelon...it is also high in lycopene...

> Like Carla and like Ann.......I am--- and have ALWAYS, ALWAYS

been--- a big

> consumer of tomatoes. I've certainly eaten a lot of 'em--nearly

every single

> day of my life.

>And yet, and yet.....like Carla and Ann, lifelong lycopene didn't

lessen or limit MY large leiomyomas!!!

*LOL*!!!!! Oh, Roma...you always seem to " get " it!

I sort of rank this study right up there with all the fibroid dietary

books that have been published which claim certain foods will *cure*

or *prevent* the disease.

Lark writes about legumes...and encourages mass

consumption...but, if you live in the south in this nation...legumes

are a daily staple. So, why the high numbers of fibroids down there?

Her fibroid diet book is a fairly healthy representation of a vegan

diet. A jump from there to implying this is a " fibroid specific " diet

is misplaced.

And, after reviewing Warshowsky and Oumano's book, well, simply " no

comment. " Okay, one comment. FIBROIDS ARE NOT MALIGNANT! Not even

at a 1% ratio! sheez. Sad to say this book is the #1 selling

consumer book on fibroids right now...misinformation, misinformation,

misinformation...

I don't know if there's really any specific foods that will *cure* or

*prevent* fibroids -- the evidence is weak or lacking on all counts,

from my perspective.

But, we do know some foods are high in certain vitamins, minerals, and

proteins -- all of which make us feel better and more capable of

dealing with physical ailments. We also know that some foods contain

an awful lot of endocrine disrupting hormones or chemicals -- which

could potentially exacerbate our fibroid condition. Increasing the

good while decreasing the bad dietary influences simply makes good

sense. No matter the disease(s) you may be facing.

For what it's worth, the following book is the best healthy eating

guide I've encountered so far:

Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to

Healthy Eating

Walter C. Willett, co-developed with the Harvard School of Public Health

c.2001

Willett discusses the carotenoid family of plant pigments...of which

lycopene is only one in a family of ~500 relatively unstudied

carotenoids. Some carotenoids convert to vitamin A, while others act

as antioxidants. But, true evidence of any one specific carotenoid

impacting any given disease is either weak or nonexistent. For

further discussion of THE SCIENCE and what is known vs. what is

{interesting} theory, I highly recommend this book.

Oh, he also trashes the Atkins and South Beach diets and a few

others...and explains how anyone can lose weight on any given

diet...but, oh, the long-term health consequences of specific diets...

His trashing, er uh, discussion of the USDA dietary pyramid was well

worth the price of the book!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743223225/qid=1082475581/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2\

_1/104-4210305-5058342

First half of the book is THE SCIENCE dicussed ala Ralph Nader

style...with the second half devoted to diet and menu suggestions,

along with a few recipes.

Good eating and good health to y'all!

Carla Dionne

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/20/2004 11:52:54 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

cdionne@... writes:

I don't know if there's really any specific foods that will *cure* or

*prevent* fibroids -- the evidence is weak or lacking on all counts,

from my perspective.

Carla:

The fact that you, Ann and I all had our fibroids come into full " fruition "

while consuming tons of tomatoes is evidence (albeit I admit rather scant!!!!)

to support the *opposite* thesis--that is, that lycopene-loaded tomatoes

might....dare I even suggest.....cause fibroids.

Gosh, now that's a totally unscientific statement....but wouldn't it be a

great NUFF

" Fibroidal Fiction Film " plot idea? Sure it would!

Picture this........

The NUFF Film Foundation presents.......

A heart-warming movie entitled: " Fibroid-Growin' Tomatoes " (not to be

confused with the similarly-titled chick flick of the early '90's : " Fried Green

Tomatoes " )

I wonder if the great Kathy Bates would be interested in interpreting this

challenging role as frustrated, unfulfilled (tomato 'n fibroid-growing)

housewife in the deep South, seeking both the meaning of life AND the cause of

her

uterine fibroids (which she'll eventually learn is THEM THAR TOMAYTAHS!!!!).

All the action (her growing angst, her growing tomatoes and her growing

fibroids) happenin' once agin down thar----at the Whistlestop Cafe.

(Hey why not?? some movie locales are so good you just want to see them again

and again....right????) :-)

OK, Back to my day job now,

Roma Polansky-in-the making

[Guest guest]

< >

Just a quick note to those thinking of getting more lycopene in their diets:

raw tomatoes are actually much lower in lycopene than cooked tomatoes. The

heating process really brings up the lycopene levels in tomato-based foods -

think tomato sauces, ketchup, etc.

Rhonda