A tomato a day?

I couldn’t help noticing a headline in the Daily Express last week ‘Tomato ketchup each day cuts your cholesterol’. The story is about a study from Finland that was published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

This somewhat small study of 21 people looked at the effects of eating tomato products on their total cholesterol, including low density lipoprotein (LDL), sometimes referred to as ‘bad cholesterol’, for three weeks. An increase in these can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. With a high tomato diet, the total cholesterol and LDL were reduced. So the researchers concluded that eating a lot of ‘tomato products’ protects you against hardening of the arteries.

We already know that tomato products contain various plant chemicals, which include lycopene. It has been suggested that lycopene maybe one of the components of fruit and vegetables that helps reduce risk of cardiovascular disease. But there’s not enough evidence from this study to show that eating a tomato-rich diet will reduce heart disease.

More robust studies are needed, involving large numbers of people over a longer period of time before the Agency could be confident about the specific advantages of eating tomato products. The Agency commissioned a randomised control trial in February 2007 to investigate whether there are health benefits in eating a tomato-rich diet. A total of 180 people at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease will be recruited to the study to assess whether eating tomato-based foods decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The recruits will be randomised to one of three groups: a control group that will eat their normal diet, a group that will eat a tomato-based diet or a group that will take a daily lycopene supplement. The study is still in the early stages and results are expected in autumn 2010.

So, although the headlines suggest that you should eat tomato ketchup to reduce your risk of heart disease, the evidence is not at all clear. Indeed, tomato ketchup can be high in salt and sugar. So don’t forget to check the label to compare between the different brands and choose the lower salt/sugar one where it's available.