Legend has it that in the late 1400s, Spanish conquistador Ponce de Leon came to the New World in search of a fountain of youth. He never found it—possibly because he never looked for it! These days, however, researchers are busy seeking a food that may effectively prevent prostate cancer (PCa). It wouldn’t make your prostate any younger, but it would keep it in good health as it ages.

That food may be the ordinary tomato. Scientists have singled out high consumption of tomatoes and tomato-based food products in correlation with low rates of lethal PCa. Keep in mind that correlation does not necessarily mean causality, so population studies and controlled lab experiments aim to demonstrate patterns rather than produce proof. However, when enough patterns are repeated time and again, it’s called a preponderance of evidence, the next best thing to proof positive.

History says tomatoes were cultivated and eaten by Central American Aztecs starting around 700 A.D. Years before Ponce de Leon crossed the Atlantic, Spanish explorers brought tomato seeds back home. It wasn’t long before cultivation spread across Europe, but since they were considered toxic, they were used for ornamental purposes. Toxicity was debunked in the 1800s; consumption increased and new varieties were developed. Today China leads the world in tomato production, while the U.S. is fourth.

A wonder fruit

Chaudhary, et al. (2018)^[i] write that a tomato is a “wonder fruit fortified with health-promoting phytochemicals.” A tomato is rich in phytonutrients (plant-based nutritious chemicals) including flavonoids, lycopene, beta carotene, vitamins and glycoalkaloids, most of which are not destroyed or altered by cooking or processing. The authors identify several health known health benefits from eating tomatoes raw, cooked, or in products like sauces:

• They counter oxidative stress, cell breakdown/mutation, chronic inflammation, tumor cell proliferation, and deterioration of joint tissues
• They protect against various degenerative diseases
• High tomato consumption is linked with lower incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease, and higher incidence of healthy aging.

With such accolades for a small New World discovery, Ponce de Leon might as well have sought a wonder fruit rather than a fountain of youth.

Tomatoes and prostate cancer

In 1995, a published paper based on data from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study noted, “Combined intake of tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato juice, and pizza (which accounted for 82% of lycopene intake) was inversely associated with risk of prostate cancer.”^[ii] Subsequent studies uncovered a particularly strong protective relationship against more dangerous PCa cell lines. Research is ongoing to analyze phytonutrient effects—especially lycopene—on biochemical properties of tumor activity.

While epidemiological patterns of PCa incidence and tomato consumption have been widely identified, factor analysis is challenging:

The combination of diversity in tomato varieties and food products consumed, coupled with the host variation in absorption and metabolism provides a challenge for epidemiological efforts Thus, establishing a causal relation with cancer risk for such a widely consumed food with population studies alone might not be possible.^[iii]

This is where laboratory studies come in. Lycopene has been extensively analyzed in cellular lab experiments as well as human and rodent trials for its effects on PCa. Its anti-cancer properties include suppressing PCa progression and proliferation, arresting tumor cell cycles, modulating cancer’s signaling pathways and their protein, and inducing PCa cell death.^[iv] That said, tomatoes have other phytonutrients which may also play a role in lowering the risk of lethal PCa, so more research is needed in order to determine which, if any, are truly causal in reducing risk.

Going back to epidemiological and demographic analysis of tomato consumption and incidence of lethal PCa, a 2023 paper out of Harvard tracked 10,396 men from the above-mentioned Health Professionals Follow-Up Study who had initially negative prostate biopsies. Data from 1994 to 2017 was available for any incidence of PCa as well as for dietary habits. The authors found that those with higher intake of lycopene (also coffee and statin use) had lower rates of lethal prostate cancer during the analysis period.

The moral of the story is, your prostate gland will thank you if you put it on a plant-based diet heavy with tomatoes. if you want to reduce your PCa risk—especially more aggressive forms–don’t hold back on this nutritious fruit and products made from it. In addition, talk to your doctor about using a lycopene supplement, which has no known side effects but which can interact with some other drugs. In any case, the tomato may be your prostate’s newest best friend.

NOTE: This content is solely for purposes of information and does not substitute for diagnostic or medical advice. Talk to your doctor if you are experiencing pelvic pain, or have any other health concerns or questions of a personal medical nature.

References

[i] Chaudhary P, Sharma A, Singh B, Nagpal AK. Bioactivities of phytochemicals present in tomato. J Food Sci Technol. 2018 Aug;55(8):2833-2849.
[ii] Giovannucci E, Ascherio A, Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Willett WC. Intake of carotenoids and retinol in relation to risk of prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1995 Dec 6;87(23):1767-76.
[iii] Moran NE, Thomas-Ahner JM, Wan L, Zuniga KE, Erdman JW, Clinton SK. Tomatoes, Lycopene, and Prostate Cancer: What Have We Learned from Experimental Models? J Nutr. 2022 Jun 9;152(6):1381-1403.
[iv] Mirahmadi M, Azimi-Hashemi S, Saburi E, Kamali H, Pishbin M, Hadizadeh F. Potential inhibitory effect of lycopene on prostate cancer. Biomed Pharmacother. 2020 Sep;129:110459.