Tomato In A Pill
It is well documented that the antioxidants in tomatoes, namely lycopene and beta-carotene, are good for your health. Their benefits include reduced risk of cancer, heart disease and exercise-induced asthma. Lycopene is what gives tomatoes their red colour and works by fighting damaging free radicals.
You get optimum levels of these chemicals if you cook the tomatoes first, and absorption is best if you eat your tomatoes (raw or cooked) with a little fat. Apparently, this doesn’t work if you use fat-free or low-fat oils and dressings.
Now, they’ve made a tomato pill. Thus far, the lycopene-containing pill has reduced the oxidation of harmful fats in the blood to almost zero when taken over an eight-week course. Researchers say that its potential for treating heart disease and high cholesterol is enormous. It could also be used to reduce the number of people suffering heart attacks, stroke and other problems of artery damage and clogging. Eat your tomatoes as part of a Mediterranean diet with lots of fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts and olive oil.