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Lycopene

Lycopene is the red carotenoid pigment that colors tomatoes, watermelon and pink grapefruit. Tomato products are the main source in the diet.

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Which foods supply it?

The following amounts use the US food table cited here. They describe particular foods and portions, not a daily treatment target. 1

Canned tomato juice

22.0 mg per cup. 1

Raw watermelon

6.9 mg per cup. 1

Raw tomato

3.2 mg per medium tomato. 1

Pink or red grapefruit

1.8 mg per half fruit. 1

Cooking can help make it available

Heating and processing tomatoes break up their structure, making lycopene easier to absorb; fat also helps. There is no official EFSA recommended intake for lycopene. A food source and a studied supplement dose therefore answer different questions. 2

Sources