The quick message is that two
glasses of tomato juice will plausibly replace low dose statin therapy. It also gives us one more reason to figure
out how to generate a dried watermelon fruit and or leather for general
consumption from the best grade of over ripe fruit. I suspect that this type of concentrated from
could be both sweet and hugely beneficial.
We already have papaya fruit.
The other take home is to check
the availability of lycopene in supplement form. It is but the reality is that there is much
we do not know about the mix available in tomatoes and the work shown here
argues for the juice or paste for the full benefit.
In any case, the easy way is to
have a couple of glasses of tomato juice, or find a way to consume half a can
of tomato paste.
Of course, if it is summer time
and the beef steak tomatoes are ripening on the vine, enjoy yourself and pig
out on fresh tomatoes cut open with a sprinkling of either salt or sugar or just
by itself and discover why some of us think it makes a great treat.
Cooked tomatoes 'as good as statins' for battling cholesterol
Last updated at 11:40 AM on 20th May 2011
They are common ingredients found in millions of kitchen cupboards.
But pasta sauces and pizza toppings could add much more than a tasty
tomato flavour to a family’s favourite meals.
Scientists said that cooked tomatoes can have the same benefits as
statins for patients battling against high cholesterol levels or high blood
pressure.
Healthy: Chemicals found in cooked tomatoes could be effective as
statins in fighting cholesterol
They could be an ‘effective alternative’ to statins, the class of drugs
commonly prescribed for these conditions which can lead to heart problems,
according to a study.
And just two ounces of tomato paste or a pint of juice a day could
be enough to help many patients.
The secret lies in high levels of the compound lycopene which
gives ripe tomatoes their bright red colour. This powerful anti-oxidant is
essential for good health as it helps lower the risk of heart attacks and
strokes.
Cooked tomatoes are best as tests showed the body can absorb more
lycopene from these than raw fruit.
Experts in Australia
They concluded that it could provide a natural defence to raised levels
of so-called ‘bad cholesterol’ – or low-density lipoprotein – in the
blood.
The effect was comparable to small doses of statins which are used to
treat many of the 2.5 million-plus Britons with high cholesterol or blood
pressure
These conditions can be a factor in cardiovascular disease, the
country’s biggest killer.
One of the study’s authors, Dr Karin Ried, of the University of Adelaide
In the journal Maturitas, she added half a litre of tomato juice or 50
grams of tomato paste daily ‘would provide protection against heart
disease’.
Eating just one tomato a day would not be enough. Dr Ried said: ‘I
would really recommend looking at tomato paste. It is very rich in lycopene and
it is not difficult to get 50 grams a day in pasta or on a pizza or as a drink.
Our study suggests that if more than 25 milligrams of lycopene is taken daily,
it can reduce “bad” cholesterol by up to 10 per cent.
‘That’s comparable to the effect of low doses of medication commonly
prescribed but without side-effects, which can include muscle pain and weakness
and nerve damage.’
Lycopene is also found in watermelon, guava, papaya, pink
grapefruit, apricots and rosehip but in lower concentrations.
Lycopene - Whole Tomatoes vs. Supplements
Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
Lycopene is the compound responsible for the red colour of
tomatoes - and many other fruits. Lycopene is a fat-soluble antioxidant whose
role in tomatoes is to protect the seeds from damage created by oxygen and
light. In fruit, lycopene can absorb UV light and its antioxidant activity
allows it to neutralize free radical damage. As you'll soon discover, the
yellow fluid around the tomato seeds also contains compounds that help prevent
cardiovascular disesase!
Lycopene's health promoting properties have been so
impressive that even the nutraceutical industry has isolated lycopene in
supplement form. After all, if lycopene from a tomatoes can help prevent cancer, then why not take a
truck-load of it in pill form? That seems to be most peoples' thinking. Plus,
pills and supplements are easier to take - tomatoes take a little bit more
thought!
It may also be helpful to realize that tomatoes are the 4th most commonly
consumed fresh fruit and the most commonly consumed canned fruit/vegetable in North America . Therefore, do we really need to
supplement???
Furthermore, does lycopene in supplement form offer the same protective
benefits (or better) as do whole tomatoes?
Well, let's find out...
Lycopene in Whole Tomatoes Protects Against Prostate Cancer
A study by the Harvard
School
Lycopene's action against prostate cancer is an example of the power of whole
foods versus supplements for health benefits. In a study published in theJournal
of the National Cancer Institute, rats were fed either a whole tomato powder or
an isolated pure lycopene supplement (extract) and the results were nothing
short of amazing. The risk of death from prostate cancer was significantly
greater in the rats that were fed the pure lycopene extract!
Such results show us that there MUST be other compounds in tomatoes
that have a protective and synergistic effect, and that the whole food is truly
what we should be after.
The power of whole foods lies in the synergy that exists between all
the nutrients inherent in a given food. In the case of lycopene, the whole
tomato evidently contains a plethora of phytonutrients that render the whole
tomato (not necessarily lycopene itself) so powerfully beneficial.
Lycopene in Whole Tomatoes Protects Against Cardiovascular Disease
The yellow fluid that surrounds the seeds in tomatoes contains an
impressively large amount of flavonoids that have anti-clotting properties.
Theoretically, these flavonoids could reduce the risk of heart attacks and
stroke.
In a landmark study derived from the Women's Health Study, which
followed 40,000 women for 11 years, who were free from cancer or cardiovascular
disease (CVD) at the start of the study, tomato consumption was significantly
correlated with a reduction in (CVD).
For those women who consumed 7 servings or more of tomato-based foods
like tomato sauce and pizza each week, there was a nearly 30% risk reduction in
total cardiovascular disease compared to the group with intakes of less than
1-1/2 servings per week. Women who ate more than 10 servings per week had an
even more pronounced reduction in risk (65%) for specific CVD outcomes such as
heart attack or stroke.
Again, such results are not seen in research that specifically isolates
lycopene on its own. The power of whole foods cannot be undermined.
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