How to lower blood pressure and cholesterol with unsalted tomato juice

Scientists have analyzed the consequences of unsalted tomato juice over the course of a year and they found that it reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease: this food reduces blood pressure and ‘bad' cholesterol. Here's all you need to know about the benefits of unsalted tomato juice.

The unsalted tomato juice is able to lower the blood pressure and the bad cholesterol thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. This is what the scientists who carried out their study on a sample of Japanese people say, so let's see together what they discovered and what are the benefits of strictly unsalted tomato juice.

The research. Scientists wondered if tomato juice could have beneficial effects on heart health and to answer their question they asked to a group of 184 men and 297 women to drink unsalted tomato juice in the preferred quantities and over the course of a year. Comparing the data on blood pressure and bad cholesterol of the people taking part in the study, the scientists found that unsalted tomato juice had beneficial effects on health. Specifically, tomato juice had succeeded in decreasing systemic systolic blood pressure from 141.2 to 137.0 mmHg, diastolic pressure had decreased from 83.3 to 80.9 mmHg while cholesterol level dropped from 155.0 to 149.9 mg / dL. The same positive effects were found both on men and on women, without age differences.

Why tomato juice is healthy. The tomato is known for its antioxidant and detoxifying properties, it contains vitamin C and vitamin A and it helps strengthen the immune system. The tomato also avoids that the bad cholesterol adhere to the arteries walls, avoiding then their enlargement and therefore reducing the risk of increase in blood pressure.

The research, titled “Unsalted tomato juice intake improves blood pressure and serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level in local Japanese residents at risk of cardiovascular disease”, was published in Food Science & Nutrition magazine.