Drinking just one glass of 'this' in the morning will cleanse your blood vessels.
It's widely known that eating vegetables is essential for good health. However, for busy modern people, it's not easy to eat vegetables every day. Drinking just one cup of tomato juice in the morning can provide numerous health benefits. Let's explore the health benefits of drinking a cup of tomato juice a day.
◇Good for heart health and lowers cholesterol levels
Drinking about one cup of tomato juice a day can help prevent heart disease. This is because the lycopene in tomatoes helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. A research team at Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Japan conducted a study in which 481 participants, aged 20 to 74, were asked to consume as much unsalted tomato juice as they wanted for a year.
The research team asked the participants to record their daily tomato juice intake and any changes in their health status. The average daily intake per person was 215 mL. At the beginning and end of the study, the team measured various factors, including blood pressure, triglycerides, blood cholesterol, and fasting plasma glucose levels.
The study found that 94 people with hypertension or pre-hypertension experienced a reduction in blood pressure. The average systolic blood pressure was 141.2 mmHg at the start of the study, but it dropped to 137 mmHg after the study. The average diastolic blood pressure also decreased from 83.3 mmHg to 80.9 mmHg. This result was independent of gender or age. Cholesterol levels also decreased. In 125 people with dyslipidemia, LDL cholesterol levels, also known as bad cholesterol, decreased by approximately 3.3%. High LDL cholesterol levels increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. There was no change in HDL cholesterol levels, also known as good cholesterol.
◇Red ripe tomatoes have great health benefits
Lycopene content varies depending on the variety of tomato. Red, ripe tomatoes and small cherry tomatoes contain more lycopene per gram. The skins of fruits and vegetables like tomatoes may contain pesticide residue. Therefore, it's best to soak them in water for about five minutes, rinse thoroughly, and then grind them before eating. However, avoid tomato juice, which contains sugar, as it interferes with the absorption of the tomatoes' nutrients and can actually raise blood sugar levels.
