Contributors in the Battle Against Degenerative Diseases
New research finds first non-pharmacological
treatment for mild hypertension
More than 50 million Americans
suffering from hypertension are
seeking advice from their doctors
to find the best way to lower their blood
pressure. Often referred to as a “silent killer,”
hypertension contributes to more than 75
percent of all strokes and heart attacks,
affecting more than half of all Americans
over age 65. Many are being advised to make
major lifestyle changes, including eating
right and exercising. Others are taking
expensive blood pressure-lowering medication
that can sometimes have serious side
effects.
But new research published in abstract
form in the May issue of the American
Journal of Hypertension could provide a new
treatment alternative for hypertensive
patients unwilling to make lifestyle changes
or take blood-pressure lowering medications.
In a single-blind, placebo-controlled
crossover trial, Esther Paran, M.D., the study’s
principal investigator, evaluated the effect of
Lyc-O-Mato®, a standardized natural tomato
extract rich in lycopene, on 35 mild hypertensive
patients.
Paran, who is head of the Hypertension
Unit at Soroka University Hospital, Faculty
of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University
of the Negev in Be’er Sheva, Israel, studied
mild hypertensive patients between the ages
of 45 and 60 years old. The patients were
administered a daily dose of identical placebos
for the first four weeks of the study followed
by a 250 mg daily dose of Lyc-O-Mato,
which contains 15 mg of lycopene, for the
final eight weeks of the study. Preliminary
results of the study indicated a significant
reduction in systolic blood pressure in treated
patients.
“This research is the first of its kind to
provide documented evidence that a natural
tomato extract can manage blood pressure in
mild hypertensive patients,” Dr. Paran said.
“This is fantastic news for those who have
had a difficult time controlling mild to
moderate hypertension through lifestyle
changes alone.”
The study found systolic blood pressure
was lowered from 144 to 135, an average of 9
mm Hg reduction. Diastolic blood pressure
was lowered an average of 4.5 grams mm Hg.
Beneficial effects on blood lipids, lipoproteins
and oxidative stress markers were also
noted in the study.
“The level to which blood pressure was
lowered as a result of Lyc-O-Mato was comparable
to the level at which blood pressure is
lowered through drug intervention,” Dr.
Paran stated.
Paran attributes the study’s positive results
to the various phytonutrients contained in
Lyc-O-Mato. Lyc-O-Mato is natural tomato
extract that contains not only lycopene, the
carotenoid found in tomatoes that is responsible
for giving them their red color, but
other phytonutrients as well. These include
phytoene and phytofluene in the tomato’s
own oil, complete with natural vitamin E and
other phospholipids.
Several recent studies have shown that a
diet rich in tomatoes and tomato products
is strongly linked to a reduced risk of
certain cancers. In a six-year study of
48,000 male health professionals, Dr. Edward
Giovannucci and colleagues at Harvard
Medical School found that consuming tomatoes,
tomato sauce or pizza more than twice
a week, as opposed to never, was associated
with a reduced risk of prostate cancer of 21 to
34 percent, depending on the food.
More research has shown that the combination
of phytonutrients found in tomatoes
is having positive effects on prevention of
heart disease and certain types of cancer. It is
not only lycopene, but lycopene in combination
with other phytonutrients that is most
beneficial to those at risk for heart disease
and prostate cancer, among others.
Consumer trends show consumers expressing
more interest in dietary ingredients containing
nutrients of an original food source, like
those tomato nutrients found in Lyc-O-Mato.
This demand is due to the greater health
benefits gained from a combination of various
phytonutrients than from a single
phytonutrient in isolation.
You may have heard the buzz created
when 1999 research found Lyc-O-Mato may
be effective in preventing prostate cancer.
Dr. Omer Kucuk of the Karmanos Cancer
Institute in Detroit found tumor size was
reduced and the tumors were more likely to
be confined to the prostate in those prostate
cancer patients treated with Lyc-O-Mato in
the study. Levels of serum PSA (Prostate
Specific Antigen, a common marker used to
detect prostate cancer) were actually found to
decline in patients who received the natural
tomato extract. He also attributed these positive
results to the various phytonutrients
contained in Lyc-O-Mato.
“To our knowledge, this is the first report
from a randomized prospective clinical trial
showing the efficacy of a compound
containing several phytonutrients in the
prevention and treatment of prostate cancer,”
Dr. Kucuk said.
Even more important to the majority of the
American population is research like Dr. Paran’s
that outlines the heart health benefits of
Lyc-O-Mato, as heart disease is the number one
killer among Americans. But Dr. Paran’s study
was not the first time Lyc-O-Mato went under the
microscope to determine its effect on heart disease
risk factors. In fact, Dr. Michael Aviram,
head of the lipid research laboratory at the
Technion Institute of Technology and Rambam
Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, has studied the
effects of Lyc-O-Mato in relation to LDL cholesterol,
a major factor in heart disease.
LDL is known as “bad cholesterol.” High
levels of LDL cholesterol can block blood flow
to the heart and cause a heart attack. Doctors
currently rely on drugs to reduce LDL levels
in blood, but it may be surprising to know
that more than 30 percent of patients with
atherosclerosis have normal levels of blood
LDL cholesterol. Those patients’ LDL cholesterol
is oxidized, or damaged, which allows it
to be easily deposited in the arteries, leading
to a heart attack.
Dr. Aviram says that when LDL is oxidized, a
process that takes place constantly in the body’s
cells, it produces the gum-like substance that
adheres to the smooth lining of the arteries. This
can cause partial or total blockage of blood flow
and serious cardiovascular conditions, including
heart attacks.
That is why Dr. Aviram believes it is important
not to focus too narrowly on blood cholesterol
levels. Instead, he has been gathering
evidence that bad cholesterol actually needs to be
protected from oxidation.
He has found that Lyc-O-Mato protects
LDL from oxidative modification. In a study
published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism
and Cardiovascular Disease, Aviram found
Lyc-O-Mato made LDL cholesterol 90 percent
more resistant to oxidation. This is due to the
natural complex of carotenoids and phytonutrients
contained in Lyc-O-Mato.
“Protecting LDL from oxidation reduces the
likelihood it will adhere to artery walls and block
blood flow,” he said. “Next to making the dietary
changes necessary to normalize your LDL levels,
supplementing your diet with Lyc-O-Mato is the
most important step toward achieving total heart
health.”
The old adage goes without saying, “An apple
a day, or a tomato in this case, keeps the doctor
away.” However, for those at high risk for heart
disease or those simply interested in maintaining
optimum heart health, the best insurance policy
is to supplement a diet rich in fruits and vegetables
with Lyc-O-Mato.
The tomato is loaded
with phytonutrients
that are proven beneficial
most notably in the
prevention and treatment of
heart disease and prostate
cancer. But what are the best
methods for obtaining the
tomato phytonutrients that are
essential to your health? The
following suggestions ensure
you will get the most from your
tomato consumption.
Raw Tomatoes:
Raw tomatoes are a good source of
phytonutrients including lycopene. In
fact, they are ranked as the number one
contributor of nutrients to the North
American diet among all fruits and vegetables.
It is recommended that we consume
two raw tomatoes per day, ideally vineripened
tomatoes, to get the most health
benefits. Nutrients from the tomato are better
ingested into the body if the raw tomatoes
are consumed with a bit of oil, such as
olive oil.
Cooked Tomatoes
Cooking tomatoes to make tomato sauces
and pastes, among other dishes, greatly
increases the bioavailability of their phytonutrients.
Heat breaks down the cellular
structure of the tomato where the phytonutrients
are contained. Most phytonutrients
are not water soluble and they need
the oil, which is usually associated with
cooking, to absorb more easily into the
bloodstream.
Processed Tomato Food Products
Processed tomatoes found in foods like
tomato paste, tomato sauce and ketchup
are processed with oil, which makes them
highly bioavailable sources of phytonutrients.
Manufacturing these products
involves macerating (chopping or grinding)
the fruit. The process breaks the cell walls
and facilitates an even greater release of the
phytonutrients. Health-conscious consumers
must be aware, however, of the high
amounts of salt and sugar contained in
most processed tomato food products.
Standardized Natural Tomato Extract
A standardized natural tomato extract contains
several phytonutrients found in
tomatoes
including
lycopene, tocopherols,
vitamin E,
phytofluene, phytoene,
phytosterols, beta carotene and more. An
example is Lyc-O-Mato®, extracted from
non-GMO tomatoes grown in Israel that
contain four times the lycopene content of
tomatoes grown elsewhere.
Lyc-O-Mato has been the first choice for
use in significant studies due to the synergy
of the lycopene and other phytonutrients it
contains that enhance the antioxidant activity
and related health benefits of lycopene.
The phytonutrients have been released from
the cell tissue during a patented extraction
process and are present in a natural tomato
oil base, greatly increasing the bioavailability
of the phytonutrients.
Lyc-O-Mato is available in soft-gel form
in dietary supplements as well as in tablets
and capsules. It is also finding its way into
functional foods. Most significant epidemiological
studies, including those cited in
this article, utilized dosages of 250 mg of
Lyc-O-Mato per day, which contains 15 mg
of lycopene along with other phytonutrients.
Consumers should look for labels
indicating “15 mg of lycopene from Lyc-OMato
or a standardized natural tomato
extract.”
What To Look For:
- Lyc-O-Mato product logo on the label.
- Labels specifying “standardized natural tomato extract.”
- Labels specifying “lycopene from Lyc-O-Mato” or “Lyc-O-Mato as the source of lycopene” on the ingredient list or “lycopene from a standardized natural tomato extract.” Such labeling ascertains the presence of the other phytonutrients essential for the health benefits of Lyc-O-Mato.
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