Did you know that the tomato is called a “Functional food”? It’s a fruit which is more than a ‘nutrient provider’. It has a miracle chemical-’Lycopene’ which does wonders to skin.
What is Lycopene?
It’s a unique carotenoid which has powerful anti aging effect. Carotenoids are related to vitamin A, and they are known to protect against a host of cancers!
Specifically, how does lycopene help the skin?
Skin can be damaged due to UVrays and and oxidative chemical reaction in the body. Lycopene has UVrays blocking capability and it also counters the oxidative damage to the skin through its antioxidant mechanism.It has the ability to reduce cell inflammation,facilitates cell renewal and protects DNA from damage.
It enhances the connectivity between cells and noticeably improves the skin texture,thus keeping your skin looking young. Lycopene is also a free radical scavenger, now what is that : Free radicals contribute to the aging of skin.The fact that Lycopene is concentrated in the cell membrane, makes its free radical scavenging capacity a powerful anti aging tool.This helps in maintaining the cell integrity,thereby preventing the entry of any toxin.
Lycopene– a collagen protector, and this is a very important action!
Collagen is a protein which is essential for wrinkle free skin. Lycopene protects the collagen from collagenase- a collagen damaging enzyme, thereby preserving the integrity of skin to keep it free from sags and wrinkles.
Practical talk : Is raw tomato a good source?
The amount of lycopene available to body from the raw tomato is less when compared to cooked tomatoes. The cooking process increases the bioavailability as it releases the lycopene from the indigestible fibre.
What are the other sources of Lycopene?
Two important sources are the common papaya and the not so common grapefruit.
