Posted: 10/09/2012 8:18 am EDT Updated: 10/09/2012 8:48 am EDT
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There's nothing quite like a vine-ripened tomato, bursting with juice, or a slow-simmered tomato sauce, thick and rich -- and now a new study suggests the red fruit and its products could be good for lowering the risk of stroke.
Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio found that men with the highest blood levels of lycopene were the least likely to have a stroke over 12 years.
Lycopene is an antioxidant that is found at high levels in fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, watermelons and guavas, according to the National Institutes of Health. For reference, a cup of tomato juice (240 milliliters) contains approximately 23 milligrams of lycopene.
"This study adds to the evidence that a diet high in fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of stroke," study researcher Jouni Karppi, Ph.D., said in a statement. "The results support the recommendation that people get more than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, which would likely lead to a major reduction in the number of strokes worldwide, according to previous research."
The Neurology study included 1,031 men between the ages of 46 and 65 who lived in Finland. Researchers analyzed the lycopene levels in their blood at the beginning and the end of the study (which lasted, on average, for 12 years).
By the end of the study period, 67 men had had a stroke. Fewer men with the highest lycopene levels had strokes than men with the lowest lycopene levels: Of the 259 men with the highest levels of lycopene, 11 had a stroke; meanwhile, of the 258 men with the lowest levels of lycopene, 25 had a stroke.
And when the researchers analyzed strokes that were caused solely by blood clots, they found that the men who had the highest levels of lycopene had a 59 percent decreased stroke risk compared with those with the lowest levels of lycopene.
Tomatoes aren't the only food that have been linked with a lower stroke risk -- click through the slideshow for more:
Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio found that men with the highest blood levels of lycopene were the least likely to have a stroke over 12 years.
Lycopene is an antioxidant that is found at high levels in fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, watermelons and guavas, according to the National Institutes of Health. For reference, a cup of tomato juice (240 milliliters) contains approximately 23 milligrams of lycopene.
"This study adds to the evidence that a diet high in fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of stroke," study researcher Jouni Karppi, Ph.D., said in a statement. "The results support the recommendation that people get more than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, which would likely lead to a major reduction in the number of strokes worldwide, according to previous research."
The Neurology study included 1,031 men between the ages of 46 and 65 who lived in Finland. Researchers analyzed the lycopene levels in their blood at the beginning and the end of the study (which lasted, on average, for 12 years).
By the end of the study period, 67 men had had a stroke. Fewer men with the highest lycopene levels had strokes than men with the lowest lycopene levels: Of the 259 men with the highest levels of lycopene, 11 had a stroke; meanwhile, of the 258 men with the lowest levels of lycopene, 25 had a stroke.
And when the researchers analyzed strokes that were caused solely by blood clots, they found that the men who had the highest levels of lycopene had a 59 percent decreased stroke risk compared with those with the lowest levels of lycopene.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/09/tomatoes-stroke-risk-foods_n_1948289.html
Tomato compound tied to lower stroke risk: study
10 October 2012, Reuters – 23 hrs ago
(Reuters) - Men who love eating tomatoes may have lower odds of suffering a stroke, according to a Finnish study.
Researchers whose results appeared in the journal Neurology found that of the more than 1,000 older men they followed, those with relatively high blood levels of the antioxidant lycopene were less likely to have a stroke over a dozen years.
Lycopene is a chemical that gives a reddish hue to foods like tomatoes, red peppers, watermelon and papaya. For most people, tomatoes and tomato products are by far the biggest source of lycopene in the diet.
Lycopene is a "potent antioxidant," said lead researcher Jouni Karppi, a researcher at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, which means it helps protect body cells from damage that can ultimately lead to disease.
Laboratory research also suggests that lycopene helps fight inflammation and blood clots, and may be better at it than other antioxidants.
But other researchers said the study does not prove that tomatoes alone can cut anyone's stroke risk, noting that there may be other things about men with high lycopene levels that could explain the lower chances of having a stroke.
The study looked at 1,031 men aged 46 to 55 who had their blood levels of lycopene, alpha- and beta-carotene, and vitamins E and A measured.
Over the next 12 years, there were 11 strokes among the one-quarter of men with the highest lycopene levels, compared to 25 among the one-quarter with the lowest levels.
The researchers also accounted for some major factors that affect stroke risk, like smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes - and the high-lycopene group still had a 55 percent lower risk of suffering a stroke.
"Studies like this are interesting, but they have significant limitations," said Larry Goldstein, director of the Duke Stroke Center and a professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.
The current study lacked information on the men's overall diet habits, for example, that might explain why lycopene was linked to the lower risk. But Karppi said the findings support the current advice to get plenty of fruits and vegetables.
"These findings do reinforce the current recommendations for people to get a well-balanced diet, with fruits and vegetables," Goldstein agreed.
He said the best example of a diet that might cut stroke risk is the "DASH" diet that has been shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It advocates cutting salt and getting more fiber-rich grains, nuts and legumes, and low-fat dairy, as well as four to five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
"If you want to eat tomatoes as part of that, that's fine," Goldstein added. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/lUcacJ
(Reporting from New York by Amy Norton at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies)
http://news.yahoo.com/tomato-compound-tied-lower-stroke-risk-study-163651365.html
