Have you taken your regular lycopene daily intake? You not only got a healthy dose of this powerful antioxidant by eating a green salad with fresh sliced tomatoes, but you also helped lower your blood pressure.
According to a recent double-blind study conducted in Israel, tomatoes (and tomato sauce) lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease, validating what hearth-healthy Italians have known for decades.
The Israeli study was led by Dr. Esther Paran, the chief of Soroka Medical Center’s hypertension division. The trial included patients who were already being treated for hypertension but were not responding well to their medications.
Dr. Paran prescribed a tomato extract supplement to his patients. There was a significant drop in blood pressure after only four weeks.
Tomatoes are excellent for lowering blood pressure as they contain lycopene. Lycopene is the focus of some hybrid tomatoes grown by Lycomato, an Israeli company, in order to enhance the amount of the potent antioxidant in each piece of fruit.
Tomatoes also contain additional antioxidants, making them a superfood for preventing heart disease. It may help stop LDL cholesterol from oxidising, which causes it to cling to arteries and narrow passageways, raising blood pressure.
It can be difficult to consume four whole tomatoes per day, which is the recommended amount for decreasing blood pressure, even during the peak growing season.
Here are a few ways to enjoy the benefits of tomatoes without having to eat them right off the vine.
1. Make the Chilli Sauce.
The antioxidants in tomato puree, which is a concentrated form of tomatoes, are used in your chilli instead of the bulk of a whole tomato. With ground bison and kidney beans, as well as minced garlic and onions and cayenne pepper, you have a heart-healthy main dish with a full day’s worth of nutrition.
Use tomatoes, tomato paste, and olive oil to sauté the garlic and onion in your pasta sauce, as olive oil boosts the curative properties of tomatoes. Tomato paste provides ten times the nutrients of a single tomato and is used to produce sauce.
3.Salad.
Serve a fresh salad with one whole tomato chopped on top of any of these meals as a side dish. You’ll get a fourth of your daily tomato consumption right there.
4.Tomato Juice.
Get a glass of tomato juice. It is best to make your own fresh juice because you can control the sodium content. Store-bought juices may contain sugar and sodium-based preservatives. If you have a juicer, you may make some excellent veggie juices by mixing in carrots, celery, and low-sodium seasonings.
5.Tomato Supplement.
Supplement your diet with a tomato supplement. If you can’t stand tomatoes, a 200 mg dose will give you the taste of four tomatoes.
Adding tomatoes to your diet can drop your systolic blood pressure by 10 points and your diastolic blood pressure by 4 points.
According to an Israeli study, Tomatoes will boost your immune system and lower your blood pressure in any form.
