This tasty fruit can help beat skin cancer

A common household food item has been discovered to greatly reduce skin cancer.

Research by Ohio State University shows that daily tomato consumption appeared to cut the development of skin cancer tumours by half.

Science Daily reports the study, so far conducted on mice, revealed the surprisingly high results, but there is a catch.

The mice were fed a diet of 10 per cent tomato powder every day for 35 weeks, and then exposed them to ultraviolet light. On average they showed  a 50 percent decrease in skin cancer tumours compared to the mice not fed the tomato. It only worked for males though, and it is believed that is because males mice develop tumours quicker, and those tumours are often larger and more aggressive.

Tatiana Oberyszyn, a professor of pathology and member of Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center said the study showed they need to consider sexy when exploring preventative strategies. “What works in men may not always work equally well in women and vice versa,” Tatiana Oberyszyn said.

It’s not the first time tomatoes have shown to have cancer-prevention benefits. Previous human trials have already shown that eating tomato paste can dampen sunburn and may protect against UV light damage.

If you are fan of tomatoes it sure is worth a try. That BLT sanga has a whole new appeal now, not to mention your family Bolognese recipe. 

Do you have a lot of tomatoes in your diet? Will you consider increasing the amount you eat if it will help you prevent skin cancer?