Diabetes is on the rise. Healthy diet and lifestyle are key to preventing and treating diabetes. Getting more of this natural antioxidant may help.
Lycopene is a carotene. It is a stronger antioxidant than its more famous cousin, beta-carotene. Lycopene is found abundantly in a number of healthy, red coloured foods like tomato, pink grapefruit, watermelon, papaya, guava and apricots. Lycopene is best known for its benefits for prostate cancer. But this new systematic review and meta-analysis establishes lycopene as an important supplement for diabetes. The meta-analysis included 10 studies with a total of 750 people. Most of the studies used lycopene supplements or tomato extracts. Some used tomato juice or tomato rich diets. The meta-analysis found a significant decrease in fasting blood glucose in the lycopene group. It also found a significant improvement in fasting blood glucose in the two studies that included only people with type 2 diabetes. This study suggests that increasing your intake of lycopene can help lower fasting blood sugar, especially in people with type 2 diabetes who need it most. Nutrients. 2023 Jan;15(1):122