Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Carotenoid rich tomato extract, when consumed for 2 weeks and then followed by consumption of a high fat breakfast with a 20 minute bloodwork follow-up, significantly reduced oxidized LDL by 13.1% in healthy participating subjects compared to the placebo group.
Cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke, are the first and third leading causes of death for both men and women in the U.S. They account for 1 in 3 of all U.S. deaths and cost our healthcare system $473 billion in 2009 1. One of the defining moments in the onset of cardiovascular disease is the role played by reactive oxygen species (“free radicals”) in the migration, accumulation, and proliferation of foam cells in the walls of blood vessels, leading to the development of plaque and eventually cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke 2.
The appearance of foam cells in the walls of blood vessels includes the trapping of LDL cholesterol that eventually gets damaged (“oxidized”) by free radicals, forming oxidized LDL cholesterol and increasing the severity of cardiovascular disease 3. As a result, finding ways to protect LDL cholesterol from oxidation in the walls of blood vessels is extremely important to maintain blood vessel health and help protect against the advancement of cardiovascular disease.
The use of antioxidants in promoting the health of blood vessels as a way to battle against the progression of cardiovascular disease has gained popularity in recent years 3. Specifically, this involves the use of antioxidants called carotenoids, which give vegetables their color 4.
A 2016 study that was randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled 4 involved 146 healthy normal weight individuals (65 men, 81 women, body mass index between 20 and 24 kg/m2) aged 23 to 45. They were randomly assigned to receive either carotenoid-rich tomato extract (15 milligrams of lycopene, 4 mg phytofluene, 0.5 mg beta-carotene) or a placebo for two weeks 5. After two weeks of supplementation, each subject consumed a high-fat breakfast (850 kcal; 50% of energy from fat) within 20 minutes and blood was withdrawn during the 8 hours after meal consumption.
After 2 weeks of supplementation and consumption of the high-fat meal, researchers noted a 14.7% decrease in oxidized LDL (63.30 to 54.69 Units/Liter) in the tomato extract group compared to a 1.6% decrease in the placebo group (62.3 to 61.32 U/L, < 0.001). No statistically significant changes were observed for blood sugar (p = 0.101), insulin levels (p > 0.05), and triglycerides (p = 0.124).
For the researchers, “Two-week supplementation with carotenoid-rich tomato extract increased carotenoids levels in plasma and improved oxidized LDL response to a high-fat meal in healthy normal weight individuals” and that “and additional trials are needed to prove the repeatability of these results in other sub-populations such as subjects at-risk of cardiovascular diseases.”
Source: Deplanque X. Proprietary tomato extract improves metabolic response to high-fat meal in healthy normal weight subjects. Food Nutr Res. 2016 Oct 4;60:32537. doi: 10.3402/fnr.v60.32537. eCollection 2016
Posted October 19, 2016.
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:
- CDC. Cardiovascular Disease at a Glance. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C14&q=cardiovascular+disease+at+a+glance+CDC&btnG=.
- Schieber M, Chandel NS. ROS function in redox signaling and oxidative stress. Current biology : CB. 2014;24(10):R453-462.
- Lee R, Margaritis M, Channon KM, Antoniades C. Evaluating oxidative stress in human cardiovascular disease: methodological aspects and considerations. Curr Med Chem. 2012;19(16):2504-2520.
- Mordente A, Guantario B, Meucci E, et al. Lycopene and cardiovascular diseases: an update. Curr Med Chem. 2011;18(8):1146-1163.
- Deplanque X, Muscente-Paque D, Chappuis E. Proprietary tomato extract improves metabolic response to high-fat meal in healthy normal weight subjects. Food Nutr Res. 2016;60:32537.
