For almost all of the eight years since I was diagnosed I have consumed a lot of lycopene, mostly from V8 juice, spaghetti sauce, and cocktail sauce. While research has indicated a dose related benefit up to at least ten servings a week, I probably average between fourteen and twenty servings a week. So far, I haven't turned red yet! (Just joking.)

I have also regularly consumed soy, both from food and from supplements. For years I did this to help combat hot flashes since I was on hormonal blockade therapy, as research suggested there might be a benefit, and in 2003 a Phase II trial with supplements, led by Dr. Maha Hussain, provided fairly strong evidence of a benefit against prostate cancer itself.

This morning, when looking at the National Library of Medicine website for soy and hot flashes, I found that a team Dr. Hussain works with had done a study of lycopene with and without soy. Surprisingly, the combination arm of the study did not fare as well as the lycopene arm, suggesting that there may be some interference. The study was not large, but this is an area where we need to stay tuned. If you want to find an abstract of the study yourself, the lead author was "Vaishampayan U" (last name, initial of first name), and it was published in 2007.