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| 'Tomato pill' hope for stopping heart disease | 'Tomato pill' hope for stopping heart disease |
| (about 14 hours later) | |
| Taking a tomato pill a day could help keep heart disease at bay, say UK scientists who have carried out a small but robust study. | Taking a tomato pill a day could help keep heart disease at bay, say UK scientists who have carried out a small but robust study. |
| The trial, which tested the tomato pill versus a dummy drug in 72 adults, found it improved the functioning of blood vessels. | The trial, which tested the tomato pill versus a dummy drug in 72 adults, found it improved the functioning of blood vessels. |
| But experts say more studies are needed to prove it really works. | But experts say more studies are needed to prove it really works. |
| The pill contains lycopene, a natural antioxidant that also gives tomatoes their colour. | The pill contains lycopene, a natural antioxidant that also gives tomatoes their colour. |
| Experts have suspected for some time that lycopene might be good for avoiding illnesses, including certain cancers and cardiovascular disease. | Experts have suspected for some time that lycopene might be good for avoiding illnesses, including certain cancers and cardiovascular disease. |
| There is some evidence that eating a Mediterranean-style diet, which is rich in tomatoes (as well as other fruit and vegetables and olive oil), is beneficial for health. | There is some evidence that eating a Mediterranean-style diet, which is rich in tomatoes (as well as other fruit and vegetables and olive oil), is beneficial for health. |
| Following a healthy diet is still advisable but scientists have been researching whether there is a way to put at least some of this good stuff into an easy-to-take pill. | Following a healthy diet is still advisable but scientists have been researching whether there is a way to put at least some of this good stuff into an easy-to-take pill. |
| Tomato pill | Tomato pill |
| A company called CamNutra has come up with its own "tomato pill". | |
| Working independently of CamNutra, and instead funded by the Wellcome Trust, the British Heart Foundation and the National Institute of Health Research, a team at Cambridge University set out to see if this pill would have the desired effect. | |
| They recruited 36 volunteers known to have heart disease and 36 "healthy" controls, who were all given a daily tablet to take, which was either the tomato pill or a placebo. To ensure a fairer trial, neither the volunteers nor the researchers were told what the tablets actually contained until after the two-month study had ended and the results were in. | They recruited 36 volunteers known to have heart disease and 36 "healthy" controls, who were all given a daily tablet to take, which was either the tomato pill or a placebo. To ensure a fairer trial, neither the volunteers nor the researchers were told what the tablets actually contained until after the two-month study had ended and the results were in. |
| For comparison, the researchers measured something called forearm blood flow, which is predictive of future cardiovascular risk because narrowed blood vessels can lead to heart attack and stroke. | For comparison, the researchers measured something called forearm blood flow, which is predictive of future cardiovascular risk because narrowed blood vessels can lead to heart attack and stroke. |
| In the heart disease patients, the tomato pill improved forearm blood flow significantly, while the placebo did not. | In the heart disease patients, the tomato pill improved forearm blood flow significantly, while the placebo did not. |
| The supplement had no effect on blood pressure, arterial stiffness or levels of fats in the blood, however. | The supplement had no effect on blood pressure, arterial stiffness or levels of fats in the blood, however. |
| Lycopene | Lycopene |
| Lead researcher Dr Joseph Cheriyan said the findings, published in PLoS One journal, were promising, but added: "A daily 'tomato pill' is not a substitute for other treatments, but may provide added benefits when taken alongside other medication. | Lead researcher Dr Joseph Cheriyan said the findings, published in PLoS One journal, were promising, but added: "A daily 'tomato pill' is not a substitute for other treatments, but may provide added benefits when taken alongside other medication. |
| "However, we cannot answer if this may reduce heart disease - this would need much larger trials to investigate outcomes more carefully." | "However, we cannot answer if this may reduce heart disease - this would need much larger trials to investigate outcomes more carefully." |
| Prof Jeremy Pearson of the British Heart Foundation said big studies were needed to see if this could become a viable option for patients. | Prof Jeremy Pearson of the British Heart Foundation said big studies were needed to see if this could become a viable option for patients. |