Lycopene Rich Foods List: Our Top 8

You may have already heard about lycopene and its potential health benefits, in any case we’ve created a lycopene rich foods list here for you to choose from. This should help to boost your lycopene intake for those wanting to do so.

Lycopene rich foods are generally vegetables and fruits. Whether you decide to integrate these into a main meal, snacking food or desert the lycopene rich foods on our list here are extremely flexible.

Lycopene

Lycopene belongs to the carotenoid set of phytochemicals and is a yellow, orange or red coloured pigment. Its existence has been known for a while, but its health effects have only really investigated in recent years. A lot of research interest has been focused on beta-carotene rather than similar pigments like lycopene. Humans can’t make carotenoids, so must consume them as part of a healthy diet.

Lycopene has generated interest in the wellness community through its actions as a strong antioxidant. Many studies reveal its antioxidant actions can protect proteins and DNA from oxidative damage, while partially regulating inflammatory processes.

Studies have shown lycopene can reduce the chance of genetic alterations, including through cancelling activities of reactive oxygen species. This is important in the progression of various cancers.

Lycopene was identified in tomatoes to be able to reduce the incidence of some chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, promoting improved health outcomes overall. Carotenoids are highly associated with having potential benefits on the outcomes of cardiovascular diseases. Lycopene may have effects on LDL degradation, which is important in the development of CVD. It is thought to protect LDL cholesterol from being oxidised, which has major influences on the development of heart disease.

At the right concentrations lycopene was shown to inhibit cancer cell growth, through promoting healthy cell cycle functions. This effect was seen particularly with prostate cancer cells. Lycopene could be of massive health significance with prostate cancer effecting 2.3 million people worldwide. Lycopene has also been implicated in cancers of the intestinal tract.

Certain body produced proteins, specific to cancer, seem to upregulated when lycopene levels are higher, which might be responsible for these effects. There have been a number of studies investigating its synergistic effects with other plant phytochemicals too.

Our Top 8 Lycopene Rich Foods List

As mentioned, lycopene is mainly found in rich amounts in fruits, however lycopene is also found in some vegetables. You can identify foods rich in lycopene, among other foods high in antioxidants, through their bright colourations.

Natural lycopene from natural sources represents the most stable form of this phytochemical for absorption. Lycopene is also thought to be fat soluble, while there is no suggested RDA for lycopene. Let’s discuss some of the richest foods in lycopene and how they could be integrated into your diet.

Guava

Guava is packed with 5200µg of lycopene per 100 grams and is top on our list of lycopene rich foods. This exotic fruit is also rich in vitamin C and contains some zinc. This is an exotic fruit that is more difficult to obtain but provides a rich source of lycopene. Mexico is a big producer of guava fruit and depending on where you are in the world, guava may be difficult to obtain. Guava has been touted as having a high antioxidant content, which is of interest to medical science. This fruit may have antiviral properties too.

Watermelon

Watermelon works great in breakfast bowls, as a light snack, starter or desert. It really is a very flexible fruit because of the sugar content and translating taste. Watermelon contains up to 4530µg of lycopene per 100 grams of fruit. It contains low amounts of sucrose, fructose and glucose that all can support a healthy daily calorific content.

Grapefruit

Lycopene is also abundant in grapefruit. In 100 grams of grapefruit there is 4532µg of lycopene. Grapefruit is usually served as a juice or had as a snack and can be slightly sour in taste. It is often served in mixed fruit desserts too.

Papaya

Fresh papaya is packed with lycopene, containing 1830µg of lycopene per 100 grams of papaya fruit. Papaya is a sugary fruit, containing good quantities of natural glucose and fructose. Natural sugars from fruits support a health daily calorific count and healthy metabolism. Papaya is also rich in vitamin C. Papaya easily makes it onto our lycopene rich foods list here, offering a quality food to be integrated into your diet as a snack or desert. You can also make a sweet curry using some fruits.

Tomato

Tomato is famous for its lycopene content. While it makes our lycopene rich foods list here, it isn’t the richest food available in lycopene. Cherry tomato is a fruit containing up to 2573µg of lycopene per 100 grams of tomato, while cherry tomato is also rich in vitamin C. Fresh tomato can easily be included into most main meals, either as a base to a sauce or with fresh tomato forming a side dish.

Red Bell Peppers

In 100 grams of cooked red pepper there is 484µg of lycopene, in addition to high levels of vitamin C. Red bell pepper or red peppers can be easily integrated into many meals and are very popular in Hispanic or Latin dishes. Stuffed red bell peppers also make a really nice starter. You can choose to use cheese, Italian rice like carnaroli, mushrooms or all three. Stuffed red peppers make an absolutely delicious meal.

Asparagus

In 100 grams of cooked asparagus, there is 30µg of lycopene. Asparagus has a reputation as a food that promotes cleansing in the body. Asparagus makes our lycopene rich foods list as one of the richest vegetables in lycopene. You can easily integrate asparagus into your diet and it can make a nice side dish to go with a main of either chicken or fish.

Mango

Mango is fruit and is also a source of lycopene. This fruit has been measured to contain 3µg of lycopene per 100 grams of mango. It also contains good levels of vitamin C. Mango has a high sugar content and supports a healthy daily calorific intake. Mango is popular as a dessert but it also can make nice, sweet curry with some of the other foods in our lycopene rich foods list.

Conclusion

Lycopene has not received as much attention as other carotenoid pigments, including beta carotene. You can find lycopene in rich amounts in many fruits and some vegetables. It is a yellow, orange or red pigment that is thought to be fat soluble.

Lycopene is thought to have the potential to be of benefit as an antioxidant, reducing cancer causing free radicals, while also being implicated in managing signalling pathways in cancer growth. For these reasons lycopene has been suggested as a potential cancer preventative molecule. Lycopene may have other health benefits too. This compound is thought to be able to prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, which is heavily linked to cardiovascular diseases. Lycopene might then have other health benefits on heart health, which can encourage optimal wellness.

Here we have made a list of the top 8 lycopene rich foods and how you can integrate them into your diet. Some foods really rich in lycopene include tomato, guava, papaya and watermelon. These fruits are all potent carriers of lycopene that can be readily introduced into your diet to supplement your levels of lycopene naturally.

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