TOMATO SURPRISE
A dash of tomato sauce three times a day can help cut cholesterol, research shows. The sauce helps lower the level of LDL or “bad” cholesterol, which clogs arteries.
A group of 21 men and women who added 30g, or six teaspoons of sauce to their daily diet, as well as two glasses of tomato juice, saw their cholesterol levels drop significantly in three weeks.
The level of LDL plummeted 13%, while overall levels of cholesterol fell 6%. For the same effect with sauce alone,18 teaspoons would need to be eaten each day.
It is thought the benefits come from lycopene, the compound that gives tomatoes their red colour.
The researchers of Oulu in Finland said tomato products could provide an inexpensive route to heart health.