14 DAY TRIAL // A team of Italian researchers have just become everybody's favorite people in the whole wide world, all thanks to their announcing that pizza can sometimes be beneficial to one's health.
Not to beat about the bush, these scientists say that, according to their investigations, pizza can help reduce a person's risk of developing various types of cancer.
The Inquisitr reports that this is because pizza contains a chemical compound known to the scientific community as lycopene.
This compound is basically an antioxidant that is part and parcel of the tomato sauce used when making pizza.
By the looks of it, lycopene is particularly gifted when it comes to keeping various types of cancer at bay.
More precisely, it reduces oesophageal cancer risk by as much as 59%, and it has been proved to slash colon cancer risk by as much as 26%. Furthermore, it allegedly cuts mouth cancer risk by about 34%.
“We knew that tomato sauce could offer protection against certain tumors, but we did not expect pizza as a complete meal also to offer such protective powers,” the Italian researchers reportedly commented with respect to their findings.
Health-benefits aside, the fact remains that eating a tad too much pizza can and will ultimately lead to obesity and other health problems.
Needless to say, this will translate into increased cancer risk.
Therefore, the researchers urge that people only eat pizza every once in a while, and otherwise try and embrace a healthy diet and an active lifestyle.
“This study is interesting. But before people start dialing the pizza takeaway, they should consider that pizza can be high in saturated fat, salt and calories,” specialist Nicola O’Connor of Cancer Research UK told members of the press.
The conclusion that pizza might help reduce cancer risk was reached following the researchers' looking into the pizza-eating habits and medical records of 3,000 people suffering with cancer and 5,000 individuals not affected by this medical condition.