Food as Medicine: Slow Roasted Tomato Soup for Prostate Cancer

image

By

Posted Friday, May 20, 2016 at 03:24pm EDT

Keywords: , , , ,

Prostate cancer rates in North America, Northern Europe and Australia are very high; 680,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and 220,000 die from prostate tumors1.

Are you at risk of prostate cancer?

There are a number of risk factors involved in prostate cancer development:

  • Age – men over 50 have increased risk
  • Genetics – men with a brother or father who suffers with prostate cancer are at increased risk
  • Geography – men in North America, Northern Europe, Australia are at higher risk
  • Diet – men who eat a diet high in animal protein and fat are at higher risk

Taking advantage of latency

Prostate cancer is very slow to develop and grow, meaning that a man can have prostate cancer for several years before a tumor can be physically detected. This long latency period can be used to our advantage, to help prevent pre-cancerous legions from becoming cancerous, and to slow down the progression of the disease.

If you are at high risk of developing prostate cancer, if you have pre-cancerous prostate legions, or you have a raised prostate specific antigen (PSA) level, you can help to reduce your risk of cancer progression by supporting your therapy with an anticancer diet.

Eat tomatoes

Tomatoes contain a compound called lycopene that has been shown to have anticancer effects in a number of studies investigating prostate cancer2. Lycopene is thought to prevent cancerous cells from growing3, it also triggers cancer cells to commit suicide (apoptosis)4,5.

The anti-cancer activity of lycopene is maximized by cooking tomatoes with vegetable fat such as a good quality, unrefined olive oil6. Tomato paste contains a much higher (more concentrated) amount of lycopene than fresh tomatoes.

Include onions and garlic

Onions and garlic prevent pre-cancerous cells becoming cancerous. Garlic may also prevent cancer cell growth by directly attacking tumour cells and destroying them7,8,9. Diallyl trisulfide (DATS) is an active compound present in garlic that has been shown to be anticarcinogenic and cytotoxic to cancer cells lines10. Studies have shown that regularly eating onions and garlic reduces an individual’s risk of developing cancer11.
 

RECIPE: Slow Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup

Slowly roasting tomatoes in olive oil not only gives a deep, sweet flavour to the soup, it also maximises the potential of the anti-cancer compound lycopene. The onions and garlic add additional anti-cancer compound to the recipe.

  • 1 kg/2 lbs ripe tomatoes
  • 1 small red onion
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Himalayan rock salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F.
  2. Halve the tomatoes and arrange them in a deep sided roasting tin or tray. It doesn’t matter if the tomatoes are tightly packed into the tray.
  3. Peel and dice the red onion and scatter this over the tomatoes.
  4. Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and season heavily with freshly ground black pepper and rock salt.
  5. Roast the tomatoes in the oven for 1 ½ hours. Stir the tomatoes every half an hour.
  6. After an hour in the oven, crush your garlic cloves and add them to the tomatoes, stirring well.
  7. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow the tray to cool, don’t discard the juices that have seeped out of the tomatoes.
  8. Add the tomatoes and all of the juices from the baking tray to a blender. Add the vegetable stock and blend on high until smooth.
  9. Add more seasoning if necessary and serve hot or cold.


More information on the anticancer compounds found in foods, and foods that promote cancerous growth, can be found in the book ‘Food to Fight Cancer: What Your Doctors Aren’t Ready to Tell You Yet’, available on Amazon Kindle. More anticancer recipes and articles can be found at www.thegreenappleclub.com


About the author:

Sonia Nicholas is a Biomedical Scientist and Freelance Clinical Science Writer. She has two degrees in Biomedical Science and been working in the field of clinical science for over 15 years. Sonia has a specialist interest in the use of food as medicine, particularly in the field of cancer. Sonia is the Founder of The Green Apple Club, an online community for people who want to improve their health by improving their diet.

References:

  1. Prostate Cancer Prevention Website, World Foundation of Urology NGO. Available from: http://prostatecancerprevention.net/index.php?p=prostate-cancer-world-map {Accessed on 20/05/16}.
  2. Hwang, ES, Bowen, PE. Cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis by lycopene in LNCaP human prostate cancer cells. J Med Food [Online] 2004; 7(3): 284-9. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15383220 [Accessed 20th April 2016].
  3. Palozza, P, et al. Lycopene induces cell growth inhibition by altering mevalonate pathway and Ras signaling in cancer cell lines. Carcinogenesis [Online] 2010; 31(10): 1813-21. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20699249 [Accessed 20th April 2016].
  4. Teodoro, JA. Effect of lycopene on cell viability and cell cycle progression in human cancer cell lines. Cancer Cell Int [Online] 2012; 12: 36. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3492052/ [Accessed 20th April 2016].
  5. Palozza, P, et al. Lycopene induces cell growth inhibition by altering mevalonate pathway and Ras signaling in cancer cell lines. Carcinogenesis [Online] 2010; 31(10): 1813-21. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20699249 [Accessed on 20th April 2016].
  6. Fielding, JM, Rowley, KG, Cooper, P and O’Dea, K. Increases in plasma lycopene concentration after consumption of tomatoes cooked with olive oil. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr [Online PDF] 2005; 14(2): 131-136. Available from: http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/APJCN/14/2/131.pdf
    7. Nicastro, HL, Ross, SA and Milner, JA. Garlic and Onions: Their Cancer Prevention Properties. Cancer Prev Res [Online] 2015; 8: 181. Available from: http://cancerpreventionresearch.aacrjournals.org/content/8/3/181.full [Accessed 20th April].
    8. Milner, JA. Preclinical Perspectives on Garlic and Cancer. J. Nutr [Online] 2006; 136(3): 827S-831S. Available from: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/136/3/827S.abstract?ijkey=49079b474bbbb96c3c7fd0980fa1f1455ce49474&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha [Accessed 20th April 2016].
  7. Bayan, L, Koulivand, PH, and Gorji, A. Garlic: a review of potential therapeutic effects. Avicenna J Phytomed 2014; 4(1): 1–14. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103721/ [Accessed 20th April 2016].
  8. Mikaili, P, Maadirad, S, Moloudizargari, M, Aghajanshakeri, S and Sarahroodi, S. Therapeutic Uses and Pharmacological Properties of Garlic, Shallot, and Their Biologically Active Compounds. Iran J Basic Med Sci [Online] 2013; 16(10): 1031–1048. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3874089/#B148 [Accessed 20th April 2016].
  9. Galeone, C. Onion and garlic use and human cancer. Am J Clin Nutr [Online] 2006; 84(5): 1027-1032. Available from: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/84/5/1027.full [Accessed 20th April 2016].

 

Sonia Nicholas
Sonia Nicholas is Biomedical Scientist and a Freelance Clinical Science Writer. Sonia is the Founder of The Green Apple Club, an online community for people who want to improve their health by improving their diet. The Green Apple Club community believes that everyone can improve their health by eating a diet free from processed food, artificial sweeteners and chemical additives. Sonia believes that food as medicine is the most effective way of naturally managing chronic disease.