Tomatoes are nutrient-rich and wholesome. They are technically a fruit, best as an ingredient for curries, sauces, soups, and pasta. Although tomatoes provide numerous well being advantages, consuming them in extra can result in some negative effects. One of the frequent causes of tomato negative effects is lycopene overdose, which may have an effect on people who find themselves in any other case completely wholesome.
Lycopene is a dietary carotenoid current in tomato and tomato-based merchandise. Several issues consider whether or not lycopene in tomato merchandise may have protecting or useful well being results. One cup of recent cherry tomatoes has 3834 micrograms of Lycopene, which is so much. Hence, it’s straightforward to have a lycopene overdose. As a consequence, going overboard in consuming tomatoes can set off detrimental negative effects on well being.
Lycopene: An Overview
Lycopene is a naturally occurring chemical present in brightly colored fruit and veggies. According to latest research, fruit and veggies like tomatoes, watermelon, papaya, crimson bell pepper, and grapefruit comprise this chemical in abundance. Lycopene is a carotenoid, a category of phytonutrients that embody crimson, yellow, or fat-soluble pigments, which imparts the color to the fruit and veggies. Carotenoids provide many well being advantages that assist forestall illnesses. However, of all of the greens and fruits that we devour virtually day-after-day, tomatoes and its merchandise have the best lycopene, which is an space of concern.
Tomato merchandise like tomato juice, ketchup, and pizza sauce present the best lycopene in a median weight loss program. Lycopene is useful as a meals colouring and is allowed for utilization within the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union. Besides dietary sources, lycopene is current in sure dietary supplements or multi-ingredient formulation. Therefore, it’s often a component of each particular person’s weight loss program. Although it presents many well being advantages, its extreme consumption or lycopene overdose will be hazardous.
Foods Containing Lycopene
Besides tomatoes and tomato merchandise which might be vital sources of lycopene, different lycopene-rich meals and their lycopene content material of 100 grams are:
- Guava: 5.2 mg
- Watermelon: 4.5 mg
- Papaya: 1.8 mg
- Pink grapefruit: 1.1 mg
- Cooked candy crimson peppers: 0.5 mg
- Persimmon: 0.159 mg
Lycopene Overdose: The Most Significant Side Effect of Overeating Tomatoes
Tomatoes improve your meals’s flavour and make your pores and skin easy and mushy. Tomatoes are a staple meals throughout the globe. However, some folks go overboard with tomato consumption, whether or not for the flavour or the well being benefits. Food-based or tomato derived lycopene is usually risk-free. But, like another meals, extra consumption of meals wealthy in lycopene can result in an overdose. Since tomatoes have the best lycopene, the probabilities of lycopene overdose are increased. In addition, supplemented lycopene has vital drawbacks, particularly when taken in giant doses. Most folks don’t know that doing so can have vital well being penalties.
Some negative effects of lycopene overdose can have power results on the physique. For instance, extreme lycopene because of tomato consumption may cause diarrhoea, nausea, abdomen cramps, fuel, and even vomiting. So, when you devour many tomato merchandise, strive slicing again on them to see when you discover a distinction. However, in some circumstances, the negative effects are as a result of acidic nature of tomatoes slightly than lycopene, inflicting abdomen irritation. Furthermore, abdomen ulcers can worsen from tomato-based meals. Also, these taking medicine for low blood stress mustn’t take lycopene, because it may trigger decrease blood stress.
Other Side Effects of Overeating Tomatoes and Lycopene
Tomatoes are acidic, giving them a bitter style. As a consequence, consuming an excessive amount of of them in giant numbers may end in heartburn and acid reflux disease. In addition, tomatoes are wealthy in solanine, a sort of alkaloid. Solanine is accountable for calcium accumulation within the tissues, which results in irritation. It is a major facet impact that accompanies lycopene overdose. Other negative effects of overeating tomatoes are:
1. Acidity
Tomatoes embody malic and citric acids, which make your abdomen too acidic. Due to the event of completely different gastric acids within the abdomen, consuming too many tomatoes may cause heartburn or acid reflux disease. Therefore, individuals who generally expertise abdomen misery or have GERD (gastroesophageal reflux illness) signs ought to restrict their tomato consumption.
2. Skin Discolorations
As unusual as it could sound, consuming too many tomatoes may hurt your pores and skin by inflicting Lycopenodermia, a situation wherein excessive lycopene ranges within the blood trigger pores and skin discolouration and a uninteresting look. According to consultants, a each day lycopene consumption of 75mg is taken into account secure.
3. Allergies
Histamine, a substance present in tomatoes, may cause allergic signs corresponding to coughing, sneezing, pores and skin rashes, and throat irritation shortly after consuming. As a consequence, if you’re allergic to it, keep away from consuming it. Meanwhile, tomatoes can even trigger allergic contact dermatitis. The pores and skin turns into itchy and swollen simply by touching the fruit case if you’re allergic.
4. Joint Pain
Solanine, an alkaloid present in tomatoes, is accountable for joint swelling and ache. Tomatoes can even trigger joint irritation by growing the danger of calcium build-up within the tissues. Therefore, scale back your tomato consumption when you at the moment endure from joint ache.
5. Kidney Stones
Some chemical compounds in tomatoes are complicated for digestive fluids to interrupt down. As a consequence, calcium and oxalate can construct up within the physique, forming kidney stones.
6. Pregnancy-Related Issues
Supplemented lycopene consumption with dietary lycopene throughout being pregnant might be not secure. Some ladies eat extra tomatoes, believing that lycopene can scale back the danger of preeclampsia. However, one examine concludes that lycopene doesn’t lower the incidence of preeclampsia in high-risk ladies. Instead, it results in an elevated danger of untimely deliveries. Unfortunately, there isn’t sufficient analysis on this topic. However, it’s best for many pregnant ladies to keep away from lycopene.
Lycopene: Is there a each day suggestion?
Besides dietary consumption of lycopene from fruits like tomatoes, some folks additionally take it as a complement. A examine states that lycopene consumption vary from tomatoes varies significantly relying upon the inhabitants. For instance, the common each day lycopene consumption is 4.9 mg/day within the Netherlands and 1.6 mg/day in Spain. However, there may be at the moment no really helpful each day consumption for lycopene.
Getting at the very least 10 milligrams of lycopene per day seems useful. Some experiences counsel that really helpful lycopene doses usually vary from 2 to 30 mg per day for six months. You can get a day’s price of lycopene from pink grapefruit, which has about 1 to 2 milligrams per serving.
Health Benefits of Lycopene
While getting lycopene by your meals is the best strategy to get it, one must ensure you’re consuming sufficient lycopene-rich fruit and veggies to get the advantages. It has a number of advantages to supply. For instance, lycopene helps many organic actions. Besides the meals trade, drugs and cosmetics use lycopene sources. Here are some of the frequent advantages of lycopene.
1. Strong Antioxidant
According to many analysis experiments, lycopene is a pure antioxidant. Antioxidants assist to guard your physique from the dangerous results of free radicals. It can defend DNA, proteins, and lipids. When free radical ranges exceed, oxidative stress happens within the organism. Certain power illnesses, together with most cancers, diabetes, coronary heart illness, and Alzheimer’s, are related to emphasize. In addition, lycopene can neutralise some reactive elements like hydrogen peroxide and nitrogen dioxide.
2. Protects Against Cancer
Although latest research have discovered hyperlinks between lycopene and most cancers safety, the topic requires extra analysis. Lycopene’s antioxidant profile could support in slowing most cancers progress and improve the manufacturing of enzymes within the physique that assist break down cancer-causing chemical compounds. However, the function of lycopene in most cancers prevention requires extra concrete proof. But epidemiological survey implies that lycopene protects people from prostate and colorectal cancers. In addition, by inhibiting the insulin-like progress issue 1 receptor (IGF-1R) pathway, lycopene has been recognized as a necessary molecule for inhibiting breast most cancers cell proliferation.
3. Improves Heart Health
Cardiovascular problems at the moment are one of the most typical causes of dying and morbidity. According to analysis revealed within the National Journal of Biotechnology, lycopene can decrease LDL (dangerous) ldl cholesterol whereas growing HDL (good) levels of cholesterol. Some consultants additionally consider that having extra lycopene in a single’s tissues can decrease the danger of coronary heart assault, blocked or clogged arteries, low blood stress, and different cardiovascular problems. Lycopene additionally helps in lowering irritation with the assistance of RBCs and macrophages.
4. Improves Skin Health
Apart from most cancers prevention, a examine reveals that dietary carotenoids like lycopene assist defend pores and skin from sunburn. It may even provide life-long safety in opposition to dangerous UV radiation. In addition, you may enhance the well being of the pores and skin’s collagen and forestall the formation of some superb wrinkles. Lycopene is useful to all pores and skin sorts, however it’s useful to delicate and aged pores and skin.
Furthermore, tomatoes are astringent and will help reduce the looks of massive pores. In addition, the antioxidant nature reduces redness and irritation attributable to the physique’s inflammatory course of. According to a number of research, those that ate tomato paste each day had as much as 40% much less ultraviolet (UV) pores and skin harm from sunshine than those that didn’t.
5. Other Benefits
Lycopene can support in stopping strokes, significantly these attributable to blood clots. Researchers consider it’s because lycopene lowers levels of cholesterol whereas additionally decreasing irritation, two traits that may result in a stroke. Along with being cardioprotective, it is usually a neuroprotective agent. Lycopene’s useful results on neurodegenerative sicknesses, corresponding to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, have been confirmed in earlier research.
Other Potential Hazards
Lycopene will increase the danger of bleeding because of drug interactions. For instance, it’d work together with aspirin, blood thinners, ibuprofen, naproxen, and antiplatelet medicines. Lycopene can even result in abdomen issues starting from diarrhoea to whilst frequent as vomiting.
“Too much of anything is bad,” as our elders regularly say, and tomatoes will be detrimental to your well being if consumed in extra. Excessive consumption of tomatoes may cause numerous well being issues, together with digestive points, kidney issues, and even physique aches.
Many folks devour lycopene drugs, that are broadly accessible worldwide. However, these can result in well being points. Consult a nutritionist if you wish to know what number of tomatoes it is best to eat per day. It’s additionally important to find out whether or not you’re illiberal to tomatoes or lycopene. Also, lycopene interacts with many cancer-fighting medication and the antibiotics ciprofloxacin and olestra. So, seek the advice of your healthcare skilled if you’re on these drugs.
The Bottom Line
Many research have contributed to the consequence that lycopene is secure and invaluable in some ways. However, because of insufficient information and analysis, one can’t bounce to conclusions and ignore the potential hazards of its overdose. Hence, it’s smart to contact your respective healthcare supplier to verify whether or not lycopene dietary supplements are appropriate or not. You must also be effectively conscious of all of the potential hazards it possesses and its advantages.
While dietary supplements have many advantages, you shouldn’t overlook the dangerous results. For instance, lycopene-containing merchandise are useful for pores and skin well being, most cancers, and blood stress. But, extreme consumption of the identical is deadly. Furthermore, if not utilised accurately, it could induce inside negative effects. As a consequence, at all times search medical recommendation earlier than utilizing it.
Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQs)
Q. What occurs when you’ve got Lycopene Overdose?
A. It can result in a situation referred to as lycopenemia (pores and skin discolouration), or it could vary to completely different anomalies starting from abdomen ache to kidney stones. It is subjective and may fluctuate because of many unexpected causes. Mainly it causes acidity, allergic reactions, drug interactions, and joint ache.
Q. How a lot Lycopene is secure?
A. There are not any really helpful doses for the Lycopene, however on common, 8 to 10 mg of Lycopene is taken into account useful. In addition, to accumulate the well being advantages of Lycopene, consuming at the very least 5 servings of deeply colored crimson or pink fruit and veggies every day is useful.
Q. Is Lycopene dangerous to Kidneys?
A. Eating average quantities of Lycopene will not be dangerous to the kidney. Optimum ranges of Lycopene can decrease oxidative stress and irritation within the kidney. There is not any indication whether or not lycopene has brought about any toxicity in kidneys. However, some experiences say that lycopene-rich tomatoes comprise oxalates, that are accountable for the formation of kidney stones.
Q. Can consuming too many tomatoes trigger issues?
A. Eating too many tomatoes may result in giant quantities of Lycopene build up in your system. Although Lycopene isn’t dangerous and is usually secure, extreme consumption can ultimately trigger pores and skin discolouration, digestive troubles, physique aches, and acid reflux disease.
Q. What does Lycopene do for the physique?
A. Lycopene is a robust antioxidant with quite a few well being advantages corresponding to solar safety, enhanced coronary heart well being, and a decreased danger of sure malignancies. Though it’s accessible as a complement, lycopene-rich meals like tomatoes and different crimson or pink fruits could also be the best strategy to get it. Therefore it’s useful to the physique.
Q. Is Lycopene good to your prostate?
A. Lycopene has a chemoprotective impact in opposition to prostate most cancers. Lycopene successfully inhibits the expansion of regular human prostate epithelial cells. As a consequence, Lycopene reveals a preventive and constructive function in stopping prostate most cancers. For prostate most cancers prevention, consuming 6 mg/day is useful.
Q. Can Lycopene whiten pores and skin?
A. For solar harm, extra pigmentation, or melasma, Lycopene is sweet as a result of of its mild lightning properties. In addition, Lycopene prevents the breakdown of collagen, one of the causes of wrinkles). Tomatoes enhance face whitening since they comprise a excessive degree of antioxidants and vitamin C, a pure bleaching agent.
Q. Can Lycopene trigger constipation?
A. For some folks, consuming 30mg (or extra) of lycopene may trigger diarrhoea, indigestion, and bloating. However, constipation is uncommon.
Q. Can Lycopene decrease blood stress?
A. Lycopene is a cardioprotective compound. It protects the center by reasonably decreasing blood stress. Therefore, Lycopene Supplementation may considerably scale back systolic blood stress. But it isn’t enough for diastolic blood stress in prehypertensive or hypertensive sufferers.
Q. Do strawberries have Lycopene?
A. Lycopene is an excellent crimson carotenoid hydrocarbon present in tomatoes and greens corresponding to crimson carrots, watermelons, grapefruits, and papayas (from the neo-Latin Lycopersicum, the tomato species). Strawberries and cherries don’t comprise it.