According to research, consuming 280 ml of tomato juice per day for 12 weeks significantly reduces total cholesterol (TC) and LDL (bad cholesterol) levels in people at high risk of cardiovascular disease.
This effect comes from the biological compounds in tomatoes, especially lycopene - a powerful antioxidant. According to the World Health Organization, lycopene has the ability to inhibit the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, thereby preventing the formation of plaque in the arteries.
One study found that supplementing lycopene from foods like tomato juice can reduce LDL by about 10%, equivalent to the effectiveness of some mild statin drugs.
After breakfast and or mid-morning is the ideal time
To effectively reduce cholesterol, you should drink pure tomato juice, without sugar, no salt and preferably from fresh ripe red tomatoes.
The ideal time is after breakfast or mid-morning - when the stomach has food, helping lycopene to be better absorbed in fatty environments (such as from butter or olive oil). Lycopene is a fat-soluble substance, so if you drink tomato juice with foods that contain good oils such as canola oil and olive oil, the absorption rate will increase significantly.
Drinking a glass of tomato juice every day - whole, drinking in the morning, combined with a diet low in saturated fat - is a scientific, effective and recommended way to reduce cholesterol and protect the heart.
