A tomato a day to keep the doctor away. This may well become a new adage if the benefits of the fruit-vegetable, highlighted by a study from Cambridge, UK, are borne out in other clinical trials.
The team of academics, led by pharmacologist Dr Joseph Cheriyan, discovered that a dietary supplement based on lycopene, the natural pigment that gives the color red, could prove useful for patients with cardiovascular disease. Their conviction is based on the already recognized benefits of lycopene, the powerful antioxidant from the carotenoid family concentrated in tomatoes. Several studies have already established the protective effects of this pigment, in particular on prostate cancer. The cardiovascular risk preventionby lycopene has also been studied, although the mechanism remains to be demonstrated.
While red-colored fruits and vegetables contain lycopene, raw tomatoes have the most lycopene. 25 g of tomato puree or 100 g of raw tomatoes contain 7 g.
Tomato protects blood vessels
In the British trial, 72 volunteers (including 36 healthy adults and 36 patients with cardiovascular disease) took either a lycopene supplement or a placebo for two months. At the end of the experiment, the sick people showed a normalization of their endothelial function (the endothelium contains blood in the vessels, ensures nutrient exchange and controls blood coagulation, editor’s note) and greater dilation of the blood vessels. This is good news when we know that the loss of flexibility of the blood vessels overexposes the risk of stroke and heart attack.
Can we buy a food supplement with tomatoes? Researchers are awaiting further studies before making a decision. One thing is certain, according to them: if a lycopene pill hits the market, it will complement and not replace conventional treatments like statins.
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