Why Boy Child should eat lots of pizza
From late 1980s to early 2000s, the most feared disease was AIDS, but not anymore. Today, the most dreaded disease is cancer. Thanks goodness cancer doesn’t have the stigma AIDS came with, but the fear it elicits in some can single handedly push a truck uphill. For men, the most feared form of cancer is prostate cancer, not only because it is the most common form of cancer that affects them, but also due to the fact that this cancer will definitely deny them their conjugal rights if allowed to flourish. It is for these reasons that a boy child must do whatever he can to at least ensure he is not affected by prostate cancer, and one such thing he can do is to eat lots of pizza. OK, not just pizza, but pizza laced with lots of tomatoes.
I first heard of the importance of tomatoes to a boy child when I was a toddler. Growing up, I used to ‘steal’ raw tomatoes from mom after she had prepared them ready to make that stew or simply fry some omena. Time after time she used to cane me until one day a visitor told her not to, as, according to the visitor, tomatoes were good for my “dudu”. After that, mom allowed me to eat raw tomatoes seasoned with salt, then she taught me how to cook. My love for tomatoes however could not allow me cook as well as her since half of the tomatoes ended up in my tummy, raw. I still suffer from tomato addiction. Seemingly, I have passed the addiction to my son, and I am happy.
I am happy because according to a UK study reported by BBC in 2014, “men who consume more than 10 portions of tomatoes each week reduce their risk [of getting prostate cancer] by about 20%”. An article appearing at Prostate.net, a website for men’s health, wellness, nutrition and lifestyle, explains how tomatoes are important in the prevention of prostate cancer. The website reports of a Brazilian study that found that “men with BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia or simply enlarged prostate) who consumed 50 grams of tomato paste daily for 10 weeks had a greater than 10 percent decline in their PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) levels compared with levels before the study.” The same article went ahead to report that men “who ate lots of tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato juice, and pizza” had a 35 percent reduced risk of developing prostate cancer and a 53 percent lower risk of getting aggressive prostate cancer.
The reason why tomatoes are important in the prevention of prostate cancer is because the fruit (scientifically speaking) has a rich amount of lycopene. Lycopene is a phytonutrient (carotenoid) that has antioxidant properties that helps improve prostate health. Even though someone like me may find eating raw tomatoes satisfying, lycopene that is largely responsible for the improved health of prostate is not readily available in the raw tomatoes, and this is where pizza comes in.
The bioavailability of lycopene is best explained by Wikipedia which provides that “unlike other fruits and vegetables, where nutritional content such as vitamin C is diminished upon cooking, processing of tomatoes increases the concentration of bioavailable lycopene. Lycopene in tomato paste is up to four times more bioavailable than in fresh tomatoes. Processed tomato products such as pasteurized tomato juice, soup, sauce, and ketchup contain a higher concentration of bioavailable lycopene compared to raw tomatoes.”
The online encyclopedia continue to state that “Cooking and crushing tomatoes (as in the canning process) and serving in oil-rich dishes (such as spaghetti sauce or pizza) greatly increases assimilation from the digestive tract into the bloodstream. Lycopene is fat-soluble, so the oil is said to help absorption.”
An image of pomegranate fruit; a fruit that is also useful in preventing prostate cancer
These articles clearly tell the boy child that if he consumes lots of processed (cooked) tomatoes, he has already reduced his chances of getting serious prostate cancer by more than 50%. Healthline goes ahead to suggest five additional vegetables that the boy child ought to consume, and they include Broccoli, Green tea, Legumes and soybeans, Fish, and Pomegranate juice. I have no idea what pomegranate is; that is the fruit from which pomegranate juice is made. The picture above however should give you an idea.
