Blushing with health
If the good weather has sent you into the garden tending your tomato plants you may well be feeling pleased with yourself. We’ve always known tomatoes are good for us, as ‘fruits’ go they are extremely versatile and hugely beneficial and now it seems that they contain a cancer-fighting extract, a powerful antioxidant that could help with heart disease or those at risk of a stroke.
According to new research from the University of Cambridge a daily supplement of an extract found in tomatoes may improve the function of blood vessels in patients with cardiovascular disease.
Of course this research is based on the healthy Mediterranean diet where fruits, vegetables, oily fish and olive oil is consumed liberally and there is less heart disease. Tomatoes are often heralded as one of the main components responsible for the good health because they contain Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. It is thought to be 10 times more potent than Vitamin E.
Dr Joseph Cheriyan, consultant clinical pharmacologist and physician at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and Associate Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, said: “There’s a wealth of research that suggests that the Mediterranean diet, which includes lycopene found in tomatoes and other fruits as a component, is good for our cardiovascular health.”
Interestingly while it’s often advocated that raw foods are best and cooking denatures food, in the case of tomatoes the potency of Lycopene seems to be enhanced when it’s pureed, cooked or steeped in olive oil. My kids are thrilled to bits at this news of course because they think I will now liberally dish out the Tomato ketchup – sadly I won’t as most brands contain high levels of sugar but I’ll consider drinking a Bloody Mary (once the kids are in bed!) and whizzing up my own version of tomato soup (or Gazpachio) which is simple if you have a high speed blender, some tomatoes, half an apple (peeled) a couple of tablespoons of sun dried tomatoes and a pinch of sea salt. Whisk it all up and serve hot or cold.
If you want the convenience of a supplement you could try Lyc-O-Mato dietary supplements because they provide a full complement of tomato carotenoids and other nutrients. The specific tomato lycopène is taken from a strain of non-genetically modified tomatoes, very rich in lycopene with up to four times the amount found in regular tomatoes. You can buy them in Boots or from www.vitahealthcare.com