Tomatoes and Broccoli Team Up to Save Men's Lives

Photo Credit: J. Bowman

Tomatoes and broccoli -- vegetables each known for their cancer-fighting actions -- are even more effective in combating prostate tumors when both are a daily part of the diet, shows a landmark study published in Cancer Research.

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"When tomatoes and broccoli are eaten together, we see an additive effect. We think it's because different bioactive compounds in each food work on different anti-cancer pathways," noted John Erdman, Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois.

Erdman and doctoral candidate Kirstie Canene-Adams fed male rats one of 5 different diets, starting one month before the animals were implanted with prostate tumors, and then compared the effects of the different diets to surgical castration or treatment with finasteride, a drug commonly prescribed for men with enlarged prostates.

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The diets contained one of the following: 10% tomato, 10% broccoli, 5% tomato plus 5% broccoli, 10% tomato plus 10% broccoli, or lycopene (23 or 224 nmol/g diet).

Both tomato and broccoli were in the form of powders made from whole foods, so the effects of eating the entire vegetable could be compared to just consuming a single compound as a nutritional supplement -- in this case, lycopene, a carotenoid found in tomatoes.

After 22 weeks, when the rats' prostate tumors were weighed, the 10% tomato/broccoli combination outperformed all other diets, shrinking prostate tumors by 52%.

Broccoli alone decreased tumor weight by 42%, and tomato alone by 34%.

Lycopene alone (23 or 224 nmol/g diet) came in last, reducing tumor weight by 7% and 18% respectively.

The only treatment that approached the tomato/broccoli diet's level of effectiveness was castration -- not a desirable choice for most men, although it resulted in a 62% reduction in prostate tumor weight. Said Erdman, "As nutritionists, it was very exciting to compare this drastic surgery to diet and see that tumor reduction was similar."

"Older men with slow-growing prostate cancer who have chosen watchful waiting over chemotherapy and radiation should seriously consider altering their diets to include more tomatoes and broccoli," said Canene-Adams.

To get the prostate health benefits seen in this study, a 55-year-old man would need to consume 1.4 cups of raw broccoli and 2.5 cups of fresh tomato, 1 cup of tomato sauce or 1/2 cup of tomato paste daily, said Canene-Adams.

Erdman noted that this study shows eating whole foods is better than taking isolated nutrients. "It's better to eat tomatoes than to take a lycopene supplement--and cooked tomatoes may be better than raw tomatoes. Chopping and heating make the cancer-fighting constituents of tomatoes and broccoli more bioavailable," he said.

Practical Tips: The phytonutrients in tomatoes become more concentrated and bioavailable when tomatoes are cooked into a sauce or paste and are eaten with a little oil, but those in broccoli will be greatly lessened if this vegetable is overcooked, so steam or saute broccoli lightly.

Also, the healthful compounds in broccoli form after it has been cut, but cooking stops this process. For optimal nutrient formation, cut broccoli florets in half or into quarters, depending on their initial size, and let sit for 5 minutes before cooking.

It's easy to enjoy both broccoli and tomato at lunch, dinner or as a snack:

• Have a bowl of tomato soup and a salad with added broccoli florets for lunch.
• Add lightly steamed broccoli florets to the tomato-paste toppings on your favorite pizza.
• Healthy saute broccoli florets along with other favorite vegetables, such as onions and mushrooms, add to pasta sauce and use to top whole wheat pasta or brown rice.
• For a quick snack, serve raw broccoli florets along with the carrot and celery sticks, dip and crackers, and toast your prostate's health with a glass of tomato juice.

Reference:

Canene-Adams K, Lindshield BL, Wang S, Jeffery EH, Clinton SK, Erdman JW Jr. Combinations of tomato and broccoli enhance antitumor activity in dunning r3327-h prostate adenocarcinomas. Cancer Res. 2007 Jan 15;67(2):836-43. Epub 2007 Jan 9.

Related Topics:

• Broccoli May Fight Lung Cancer
• Crunchy Veggies Fight Cancer

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