If you want to cut your risk of heart disease - the number one killer in America - try stocking your pantry with tomatoes! A growing body of evidence indicates that if you eat more tomato products you can protect your heart in a number of ways, including fending off oxidative stress, reducing chronic inflammation, halting platelet aggregation, improving blood lipid profiles, and lowering blood pressure levels.
- Fighting Oxidative Stress. An important protective relationship from eating tomatoes is their effect on oxidative stress, which plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids found in tomato products have shown an effect of reducing both oxidative stress markers and the LDL-oxidization process. Researchers from Northern Ireland found that dietary intake of more than 40 mg/day of lycopene in a group of nonsmoking individuals significantly reduced the susceptibility of LDL to oxidation in a short-term intervention study. And scientists from New Zealand found that tomato juice increased plasma lycopene levels and the resistance of LDL to oxidation almost as effectively as supplementation with a high dose of vitamin E in patients with type 2 diabetes.
- Anti-inflammatory Power. Research points out that inflammation may be a significant root in the development of chronic diseases including CVD, cancer, obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, periodontal disease, rheumatoid arthritis, neurological degenerative disorders, and inflammatory bowel disorders. Dietary factors such as eating more tomato products can play a role in reducing inflammation. Using data from adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999 - 2004), consumption of processed tomatoes was associated with significantly lower serum C-reactive protein, a recognized biomarker of inflammation. Scientists investigated the effects of processed tomato products on vasodilatation and C-reactive protein in 56 overweight and obese adults. After consuming a low-tomato diet for three weeks, followed by either a six week high-tomato diet or low-tomato diet, the subjects’ responses were assessed after eating a high-fat meal. The high-tomato group had lower C-reactive protein levels and increased mean vessel diameter.
- Inhibiting Platelet Aggregation. Tomato products contain anti-platelet compounds that appear to inhibit thrombin-induced platelet aggregation, which may aid in the primary prevention of CVD. Scottish researchers discovered that tomatoes have the highest anti-platelet activity, according to a study that tested fruits in vitro for their anti-platelet properties. The anti-platelet components in tomatoes, which are water soluble, heat stable, and concentrated in the yellow fluid around the seeds, inhibited aggregation by up to 70%. According to the results of a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover study in 90 healthy human subjects, tomato extract produced significant reductions in platelet aggregation three hours after supplementation.
- Lipid Benefits. Another heart-health benefit of eating tomato products relates to their influence on lipid profile. A tomato-rich diet increased “good” HDL-cholesterol levels significantly by 15.2%, according to a study of the effects of a tomato-rich diet on lipid profile in 98 healthy volunteers for one month of follow-up. And in a diet intervention study, a three week low-tomato diet and a three week high-tomato diet was consumed by 21 healthy study subjects. Total cholesterol concentration was reduced by 5.9% and “bad” LDL cholesterol concentration by 12.9% with the high-tomato diet compared to the low-tomato diet.
- A Role in Hypertension. It shouldn’t be a surprise that potassium-rich tomatoes also have shown benefits in treating hypertension. A single-blind, placebo-controlled study including 31 subjects found that a short-term treatment with tomato extract can reduce blood pressure in patients with grade-1 hypertension, naive to drug therapy.
For more information, visit: http://www.tomatowellness.com/tomato-health-nutrition
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