Drinking unsalted tomato juice lowers BP, cholesterol and protects from heart disease

Consumption of unsalted tomato juice may keep heart disease at bay by decreasing blood pressure (BP) and LDL cholesterol -- is the bottom line of a recent study published in the journal Food Science & Nutrition.

The study, conducted on 184 male and 297 female Japanese adults at risk of cardiovascular disease found that the individuals who drank unsalted tomato juice had lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol compared with controls.

Cardiovascular disease is the biggest causes of death worldwide and was responsible for 15.2 million global deaths (26.7%) in 2016, according to WHO. High cholesterol and high BP are the major contributors to CVD. Hence, it becomes crucial to regulate BP and cholesterol metabolism to prevent CVD.

Tomato contains a variety of bioactive compounds, such as carotenoid, vitamin A, calcium, and gamma‐aminobutyric acid, which may play a role in maintaining physical and psychological health, including the prevention of CVD.

• Blood pressure in 94 participants with untreated prehypertension or hypertension dropped significantly: systolic blood pressure lowered from an average of 141.2 to 137.0 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure lowered from an average of 83.3 to 80.9 mmHg.


• LDL cholesterol levels in 125 participants with high cholesterol decreased from an average of 155.0 to 149.9 mg/dL.


• The beneficial effects were not different between sexes and among the different age groups.


• No significant difference in lifestyle was found before and after the study.

"In conclusion, our study shows that unsalted tomato juice intake could have improved systolic and diastolic blood pressure in Japanese residents who had untreated prehypertension or hypertension, and also decreased the serum LDL‐C level in those who had untreated dyslipidemia," write the authors.

"As tomato juice is an affordable and readily product, it could be practical as applied a nutritional intervention to prevent CVD in people at risk," they suggest.