Lycopene Review – Is it Good for Weight Loss?

What is Lycopene?

Produced naturally in plants as well as humans, Lycopene is a substance that is believed to have properties that may be able to help cure various ailments that plague the human body. From cancer to cardiovascular disease, this substance is claimed to be a possible all natural answer that people have been looking for.

There has been some suggestion that Lycopene may also help people lose weight. Can it really? In what ways? Does it help burn fat faster than normal, or does it suppress appetite? How can it help with weight loss? We decided to find out.

Who makes it?

Lycopene is a substance that is naturally created in fruits such as watermelon, pink guavas, tomatoes, apricots and pink grapefruits. It also created naturally in humans from the colon, prostate, skin and liver. Yet besides this there are companies that sell Lycopene as a supplement. Some of these companies include Swanson Premium, Puritan’s Pride, 21st Century Healthcare and NOW Foods to name a few. Lycopene may be purchased from online retailers, or stores that sell nutritional supplements.

How (and) does it work?

This substance is known for the antioxidants that it carries within it. These antioxidants are believed to help prevent cardiovascular disease, as well as certain kinds of cancer. In addition to this, Lycopene is known to help with prostate health, and is commonly used in multivitamins geared toward men. Depending on what you are using this substance for, the dosing may vary. For example, 30mg of Lycopene may be used for one week to treat asthma, whereas 15mg may be used daily for 6 weeks for an enlarged prostate.

Although there are studies showing the positive benefits of this substance, there is not sufficient evidence to prove Lycopene is effective in weight loss.

What’s inside of it and are there side effects?

Lycopene is a naturally occurring substance that is known as a cartanoid. Eight isoprene unites make it up so that the substance is known as a symmetrical tetraterpene. There are only two elements that make up this substance, they are hydrogen and carbon. In it’s natural form the molecule is connected by eleven conjugated double bonds that make up a long straight line.

The extensions in these conjugated bonds lowers the level of energy that electrons need to get to higher states of energy. This allows the molecule to absorb light of progressively longer wavelengths. Lycopene outwardly looks red because it absorbs everything but the longest wavelengths.

Adverse effects from use of this substance may include the following:

Stomach discomfort, gas, vomiting, nausea and skin discoloration (when taken in excess).

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What’s good about it?

This is an all natural substance that even occurs in our own bodies. People who are wary of synthetic substances that are full of side effects can breath a sigh of relief. And if you don’t want to buy a supplement, there are fruits such as tomatoes and pink grapefruit that you can get Lycopene from.

What’s bad about it?

There are positive health benefits of Lycopene, that cannot be doubted, but as to the actual effectiveness of it still remains to be seen. Scientific studies have shown that it may help in cancer reduction, but certain kinds of cancer, such as lung and ovarian cancer remain to be seen. Other ailments such as high blood pressure and ulcers have still not been verified to be treatable from this substance.

In regards to weight loss, there is no evidence that this substance can actually help people lose weight. Lycopene doesn’t effect any of the crucial areas that need to be met for weight loss, namely: raising metabolism, raising energy levels, suppressing appetite, burning fat or activating thermogenesis.

Wrap Up

While this substance may help with other maladies, the evidence has shown not that much. There are other ailments that Lycopene isn’t known to treat at all, such as weight loss.

Bottom Line:

There are a lot of supplements out there that will claim that not only are they all natural, but that they can help people lose weight. The thing is though, just because something is all natural, that doesn’t mean it is effective in it’s claims. Hydroxycitric acid is all natural, yet it is largely ineffective. Such is also the case with Lycopene. Other dietary supplements can make good on their claims. Even the other benefits this substance does have questionable results.

So next time you want to look for a weight loss product, this one should stick out in your mind as to what to stay away from. It may have some positive health benefits, but weight loss is not one of them.

We recommend looking into other dietary supplements.

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