The Function of Tomatoes How do we love tomatoes Let’’s count the ways: we love them in pasta, on pizza, in juice, in salad and soup, sliced on sandwiches, stuffed with tuna, even dried and baked in bagels, but most of all, we love them right off vine—ripe, red, and delicious. While tomato lovers don’’t need an excuse for eating them by the bushel (蒲式耳), now there’’s even more reason to savor these delicious fruits. Evidence is mounting that people who eat tomatoes have a substantially lower risk for cancer. In a thousand-person study of eating habits and health, Harvard Medical School researchers found that those who ate tomatoes every week had the lowest chance of dying form cancer. Recently, a study of 48, 000 American men showed a 21 to 34 percent lower risk for prostate cancer(前列腺癌)among those who consumed tomatoes, tomato sauce, or pizza more than twice a week. And in study of men and women in Italy, eating seven or more serving of raw tomatoes a week was linked to a 30 to 60 percent reduction in digestive tract and prostate cancers, depending on the type of cancer. The protective qualities of the tomato are thought to come from lycopene(番茄红素) ,a potent antioxidant(抗氧化的) plant chemical that is abundant in tomatoes. Lycopene is responsible for the red color of tomatoes; the darker red the tomato is, the more lycopene it contains. Green and yellow tomatoes do not contain lycopene. Lycopoene is also found in watermelon and pink gfruit, but tomatoes are the most abundant source. Cooking enhances the lycopene more available. Thus, tomato sauce and paste is even a better source for lycopene than fresh raw tomatoes. Lycopene is fat soluble and must be consumed with a certain amount of fat to be absorbed by the body. Tomato recipes must contain a moderate amount of oil to ensure that along with a delicious taste treat, you will also be receiving all the health benefits tomatoes have to offer. What is the main subject of the passage