Diet rich in tomatoes cuts skin cancer in half in mice.

Diet rich in tomatoes cuts skin cancer in half in mice.This discovery builds on previous evidence of cancer-prevention benefits. A new study at the Ohio State University. has shown that daily tomato consumption appeared to cut the development of skin cancer tumors by half in a mouse. The new study of how nutritional interventions can alter the risk for skin cancers appeared online in the journal Scientific Reports. It found that male mice fed a diet of 10 percent tomato powder daily for 35 weeks, then exposed to ultraviolet light, experienced, on average, a 50 percent decrease in skin cancer tumors compared to mice that ate no dehydrated tomato. The theory behind the relationship between tomatoes and cancer is that dietary carotenoids, the pigmenting compounds that give tomatoes their color, may protect skin against UV light damage.more