Guest guest Posted January 6, 2005 Report Share Posted January 6, 2005 Organic ketchup protects against cancer 19:00 05 January 2005 Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Organic varieties of tomato ketchup contain three times as much of a cancer-fighting chemical called lycopene as non-organic brands. In the US, tomato ketchup comes in purple and green varieties as well as the traditional red. Betty Ishida and Mary Chapman at the Agricultural Research Service in Albany, California, US, wondered if the colouring might be indicative of low levels of lycopene, the pigment that makes tomatoes red. The chemical has been shown to help protect against breast, pancreatic, prostate and intestinal cancer, especially when eaten with fatty foods. There is also evidence that lycopene can reduce the risk of heart attacks (New Scientist print edition, 23 December 2000). The researchers tested lycopene levels and antioxidant activity in 13 ketchup brands: six popular ones, three organic, two store brands and two from fast-food chains. Purple and green ketchups had a similar lycopene content to their plain red counterparts. But organic ketchups excelled, with one brand containing 183 micrograms of lycopene per gram of ketchup, about five times as much per weight as a tomato. Non-organic brands averaged 100 micrograms per gram, with one fast-food sample containing just 60 micrograms per gram. If you want high lycopene levels, says Ishida, the rule of thumb is to pick the darkest red ketchup. Journal reference: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (DOI: 10.1021/jf0401540) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2005 Report Share Posted January 6, 2005 I believe the lycopene level increases as you cook tomatoes. I really like canned tomatoes and the Rotel type of things. Finally something that tastes good and is good for you! Just curious. I'm confused. I thought those " purple " and " green " ketchups were dyed that way to make them more interesting for kids (marketing). Unless I'm reading the article wrong, it sounds as if they are indicating that the color of the ketchups came out naturally that way. ...or are there indeed natural purple ketchups that I don't know about? Shawn , " bunny " <rabbit@i...> wrote: > Organic ketchup protects against cancer > 19:00 05 January 2005 > Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition > Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry > > Organic varieties of tomato ketchup contain three times as much of a > cancer-fighting chemical called lycopene as non-organic brands. > > In the US, tomato ketchup comes in purple and green varieties as well as > the traditional red. Betty Ishida and Mary Chapman at the Agricultural > Research Service in Albany, California, US, wondered if the colouring > might be indicative of low levels of lycopene, the pigment that makes > tomatoes red. > > The chemical has been shown to help protect against breast, pancreatic, > prostate and intestinal cancer, especially when eaten with fatty foods. > There is also evidence that lycopene can reduce the risk of heart > attacks (New Scientist print edition, 23 December 2000). > > The researchers tested lycopene levels and antioxidant activity in 13 > ketchup brands: six popular ones, three organic, two store brands and > two from fast-food chains. Purple and green ketchups had a similar > lycopene content to their plain red counterparts. > > But organic ketchups excelled, with one brand containing 183 micrograms > of lycopene per gram of ketchup, about five times as much per weight as > a tomato. Non-organic brands averaged 100 micrograms per gram, with one > fast-food sample containing just 60 micrograms per gram. > > If you want high lycopene levels, says Ishida, the rule of thumb is to > pick the darkest red ketchup. > Journal reference: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (DOI: > 10.1021/jf0401540) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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