For your health be like Her Royal Heinzness Queen Camilla and tuck into tomato sauces

^{Queen Camilla loves baked beans}

Men should eat cooked tomato sauces at least twice a week to lower prostate cancer risk. Tomato sauce reduces the risk of cancer progression, likely because of the antioxidant lycopene. Prostate cancer is the second biggest killer of men in the western world. It can also prevent the progression of breast cancer in women. Queen Camilla’s reported love of baked beans may be partially due to awareness that tomatoes and lycopene can suppress cancer. Her husband King Charles III has been diagnosed with an enlarged prostate; later the Palace said he has cancer but declined to say exactly what sort.

^{Baked beans are good source of lycopene}

Prostate cancer is a nasty disease. It begins with uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Doctors can detect prostate cancer by viewing the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) in the blood. A high level suggests the cancer will progress dangerously. Medical imaging will be deployed to see if the cancer has metastasised. The usual progression is into the bone, which can be dreadfully painful. If you are at risk, Dr Henry Marsh’s book And Finally* will be scary. The neurosurgeon was himself diagnosed with prostate cancer, finding himself a patient in his own hospital.

^{Just to lighten the mood of the story}

If you have prostate cancer what is the prognosis? Around 80 per cent of prostate cancer diagnoses are in men where the disease is confined to the prostate. These will have a high survival rate — 99 per cent will still be alive in 10 years. If your cancer has metastasised to nearby parts of the body, your survival rate is likely to drop to 60 to 80 per cent. If your cancer has metastasised to distant parts of the body the prognosis is poor — your five year survival rate falls to 30 to 40 per cent.

The World Cancer Research Fund carried out a survey that found that men who consumed canned and cooked tomatoes five to six times a week had 28 per cent lower risk of prostate cancer.

^{A nice plate of pasta with a tomato-based sauce is beneficial for your health}

Cooking tomatoes, especially when paired with healthy fats like olive oil, can increase the absorption of lycopene, a powerful anti-oxidant. Lycopene helps protect cells from damage caused by free radicals, which contribute to many illnesses. Tomato sauce is a good source of vitamins like C, A, K, B and potassium and folate. It may also help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. It is best to cook tomato sauces yourself, but canned and bottled tomatoes will also be good for your health — men and women.

*Also author of the shocking, unforgettable book, Do No Harm, “about life, death and brain surgery”. That book spawned the flood of medical books for the lay public we have seen in recent years.

And Finally by Henry Marsh,  St. Martin’s Press 2023. ISBN-10: 1250286085, ISBN-13:‎ 978-1250286086

Do No Harm by Henry Marsh, Thomas Dunne Books 2015. ISBN-13:‎ 978-1466872806