Lycopene May Help Vascular Health in Men

by | Nov 8, 2012 | 2012, Carotenoids, Circulatory Health, Lycopene, Men's Health, Stroke

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Researchers found that out of 1,031 patients, those in the highest 25% of lycopene blood levels  had a 55% reduced risk of stroke compared to those in the lowest 25% of lycopene blood levels.

According to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Stroke kills almost 130,000 Americans each year (1 in every 18 deaths), causes 1 death every 4 minutes, costs the United States an estimated $54 billion each year, and is a leading cause of serious long-term disability (1).  A crucial disease process precipitating a stroke is damage to LDL cholesterol called  oxidative stress.  This oxidative stress leads to the formation of foam cells which signals the onset of the atherosclerosis that can end with either a heart attack or a stroke (2).

Fortunately, the antioxidants that give vegetables their color, called carotenoids, have been shown to help get rid of the cholesterol-damaging free radicals that cause oxidative stress (2).  Now a new study (3) has again found this to be so, this time with a specific carotenoid called lycopene, the antioxidant that gives tomatoes their red color.

In the study, 1,031 men between the ages of 46 and 65 participating in the Kuopio
Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor cohort provided blood samples as well as information on their diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity.  The patients were followed for an average of 12 years, during which there were 67 cases of stroke among the 1,031 participants.

The researchers found that compared to those in the lowest 25% of lycopene blood levels (< 0.030 micromoles per Liter, 25 strokes out of 258 patients), those in the highest 25% of lycopene blood levels (> 0.22 micromoles/L, 11 strokes out of 259 patients) had a 55% reduced risk of stroke (p = 0.032).  When looking at lycopene intake and blood levels, the researchers state that 820 milligrams of lycopene per day will produce a blood level of 0.31 micromoles/L (5).

Beside lycopene’s antioxidant properties, the researchers point to lycopene’s anti-inflammatory properties as well as its ability to inhibit cholesterol formation, improve immune function (6,7,8) and prevent blood clotting (9), all of which can help decrease the risk of stroke.  They went on to conclude that “high serum concentrations of lycopene, as a marker of intake of tomatoes and tomato-based products, may decrease the risk of any stroke and ischemic stroke in men.”

Source: Karppi, Jouni, et al. “Serum lycopene decreases the risk of stroke in men A population-based follow-up study.” Neurology 79.15 (2012): 1540-1547.

Copyright © 2012 by AAN Enterprises, Inc.

Posted November 8, 2012.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com

References:

  1. “Stroke Facts” posted on the CDC Website.
  2. Kruth HS.  Macrophage foam cells and atherosclerosis.  Front Biosci 2001;6:D429-55.
  3. Young AJ, Lowe GM. Antioxidant and prooxidant properties of carotenoids. Arch Biochem Biophys 2001; 385:20 –27.
  4. Karppi J.  Serum lycopene decreases the risk of stroke in men: A population-based follow-up study.  Neurology. 2012 Oct 9;79(15):1540-7. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e31826e26a6.
  5. Ylo¨nen K, Alfthan G, Groop L, Saloranta C, Aro A, Virtanen SM. Dietary intakes and plasma concentrations of carotenoids and tocopherols in relation to glucose metabolism in subjects at high risk of type 2 diabetes: The Botnia Dietary Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;77:1434 –1441.
  6. Rao AV. Lycopene, tomatoes, and the prevention of coronary heart disease. Exp Biol Med 2002;227:908 –913.
  7. Clinton SK. Lycopene: chemistry, biology, and implications for human health and disease. Nutr Rev 1998;56: 35–51.
  8. Canene-Adams K, Campbell JK, Zaripheh S, Jeffery EH, Erdman JW Jr. The tomato as a functional food. J Nutr 2005;135:1226_1230.
  9. O’Kennedy N, Crosbie L, Whelan S, et al. Effects of tomato extract on platelet function: a double-blinded crossover study in healthy humans. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;84:561–569.