Could Tomatoes Be the Key to Reducing Your Cholesterol Levels?
Tomatoes are one of the better-known types of produce to be enjoyed as part of a side salad or in your sandwich. There are many health benefits to this vegetable (which is technically a fruit) including being a good source of vitamin C, K, fibre and a good source of lycopene.
Lycopene is an antioxidant; an antioxidant is a plant compound which helps to remove excess free radicals. Free radicals in excess can cause damage and disease to the cells of your body. Excess free radicals can lead to chronic diseases such as heart disease, type two diabetes and certain cancers such as prostate cancer. Lycopene may also improve the health of your skin.
The positive effects of lycopene on heart health and in particular your cholesterol levels is less well known. A study investigated the potential effects of tomato on your cholesterol levels.
It was found that eating three hundred grams of tomatoes daily or the equivalent of equal or greater than twenty-five milligrams a day of lycopene for two weeks reduced the LDL cholesterol levels of the participants by a huge ten percent! LDL or low-density lipoproteins cholesterol is a type of cholesterol which in excess amounts begins to build up the arteries of your body to form plaques. This is what leads to heart attack.
The reasoning behind this effect from the researchers were proposed to be the anti-atherosclerotic properties or the properties which reduce the build-up plaques in your arteries. Also, the lipid peroxidation effects the process of using oxygen to remove the fat molecules.
Three hundred grams of fresh tomatoes daily is quite a lot. There are forms of tomato which provide a higher level of lycopene e.g. tomato paste contains six times more lycopene in a quarter cup than a fresh tomato per one hundred grams. Half a cup of tomato sauce contains over five times the number of fresh tomatoes per one hundred gram serving.
If you are not a fan of tomatoes, there are other food sources of lycopene which are higher than fresh tomatoes. This includes guava which contain 1.7 times the amount of lycopene per one hundred grams of fresh tomatoes. Also, watermelon which has 1.5 times the amount of lycopene per one hundred grams compared to fresh tomato.
Corn Thins slices have a range of recipes which include tomato sauce, paste and fresh tomato in the recipe as well as a number of recipes which include watermelon. Guava can be made into a delicious paste which combines perfectly with cheese on a Corn Thins slice.
Take home message: Enjoying a variety of fruits and vegetables is the best strategy to promote overall health including the health of your heart. Each fruit and vegetable have different nutrients and antioxidants which protect the health of your body in different ways.
As part of an overall varied and balanced diet to support the health of your heart trying to add lycopene rich source of produce is a smart move.
References:
1. Cheng HM, Koutsidis G, Lodge JK, Ashor A, Siervo M, Lara J. Tomato and lycopene supplementation and cardiovascular risk factors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Atherosclerosis. 2017 Feb;257:100-108. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2017.01.009. Epub
2. Top 10 Foods Highest in Lycopene. My Food Data https://www.myfooddata.com/articles/high-lycopene-foods.php
3. LDL: The ‘Bad’ Cholesterol. National Library of Medicin. https://medlineplus.gov/ldlthebadcholesterol.html