Tomato consumption helps beat back hypertension

January 21, 2024

Star ingredient in the Mediterranean diet helps keep BP in check

Friend, I’m not one to play the numbers game when it comes to your health. 

I leave that for the mainstream. 

If your blood pressure is a little higher than what mainstream guidelines say is “perfect”… I wouldn’t immediately become ALARMED. 

I’d want to look at WHAT ELSE is going on with your health… and then figure out what the right course of action is from a HOLISTIC vantage point. 

But there are some cases when your blood pressure numbers are consistently SOARING… and there could be cause for concern. 

Especially if your heart risk is HIGH. 

If you TRULY have hypertension… and not just BP numbers that SPIKE when you’re stressed out…

You’ll want to figure out how to get those numbers back down to within an optimal range. 

That doesn’t necessarily mean taking BP-lowering drugs, mind you. 

I’m a fan of trying out lifestyle interventions first – and one of the MAJOR ways you can bring your BP readings into a healthy range is through diet. 

I was pleased as punch to see that a recent study highlighted one particular food and its ability to help with blood pressure control…

Especially in older folks at high risk for cardiovascular events. 

I’m talking about tomatoes. 

Now, they’re a STAR ingredient in the Mediterranean diet… which, as a whole, is a shining light as an approach to eating that helps REIN IN elevated blood pressure. 

But according to a new study out of Spain, eating the equivalent of one beefsteak tomato a day could reduce hypertension risk by as much as 36%.

And for those whose numbers were ALREADY on the high end… tomato consumption was associated with better “top” and “bottom” numbers (or systolic and diastolic, respectively)…

ESPECIALLY among the study subjects whose BP readings were just a little on the high side. 

Far too often, patients simply need a minor TWEAK to their blood pressure control… but their docs put them on powerful meds to bring their numbers down as low as they can go. 

And too-low BP can increase risk of falls… car accidents… brain fog… and more. 

What you REALLY want is that “Goldilocks” scenario… where your blood pressure is neither too high nor too low…

But JUST RIGHT. 

Turns out, you can make those MINOR adjustments simply by eating tomatoes… which are rich in a substance called lycopene. 

It’s an antioxidant pigment that not only gives tomatoes their red color… but also helps BANISH oxidative stress.

And it also helps EXTINGUISH inflammation in blood vessels. 

Lycopene actually works quite similarly to one of those ACE inhibitor drugs prescribed for hypertension…

But in a much GENTLER way. 

That means a much LOWER risk of your BP taking a dangerous NOSEDIVE.

Now, you could take a lycopene supplement to CONQUER blood pressure woes…

But I encourage you to go ahead and eat whole tomatoes… or even tomato products like marinara sauce, which will contain a more concentrated amount of lycopene (likely more than you’d get by swallowing a capsule). 

Just be sure to crush your own tomatoes (the REDDER the BETTER)... and make your own sauce… instead of purchasing the store-bought kind. 

Most jarred or canned tomato sauces are JAMMED with added sugars… and could even be CONTAMINATED with chemicals like BPA from whatever they’re packaged in. 

For better health,

Dr. Marc S. Micozzi, M.D., Ph.D.

{{newsletter-optin-01="/inline-optins"}}

You May Also Like