Mel Robbins explains how lycopene in tomatoes reduces skin aging, boosts sun protection by about 40%, and enhances DNA repair. The catch: you'd need 20 pounds of raw tomatoes daily to hit the effective dose. The fix is cooking tomatoes with oil, which increases lycopene absorption by 70% and lets you reach the target with just three tablespoons of tomato paste.
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Why do you love tomatoes so much other than the fact that you're Italian? Okay, of course, because I'm Italian, but also because of the benefits of lycopene. Lycopene in studies shows cardiovascular and skin benefits. Clinical trials have shown that, for example, lycopene can really reduce LDL oxidation, which is the process that makes LDL cholesterol truly dangerous. It can also work as an internal skincare. So it actually boosts your SPF, your internal SPF by 40%. How? A tomato? Yes. How is basically increasing your DNA repair and also actively inhibiting the breakdown of collagen and the formation of age spots. There is, however, a problem. To see these benefits, these benefits start, start at with 10 milligrams of lycopene in clinical trials that use pills. Now, this is equivalent to eating 20 pounds of raw tomatoes tomatoes a day. But there is a trick. If you cook those tomatoes in olive oil or in any type of oil like Italian grandmothers used to do, then you can boost the absorption of lycopene. Wow. Just by cooking the tomato? Just by cooking. But this is just step 1 because then when you add olive oil, uh-huh, you boost the availability by an additional 70%. Why? Because lycopene is liposoluble, and so it can't be absorbed without fat. And so basically, by cooking your tomatoes into a paste with olive oil, you can cover— you can reach the 10 milligrams of lycopene with just 3 tablespoons of tomato paste. That's incredible. That's incredible.
