Tomato supplement 'staves off heart disease'

For a long time now scientists have realized that that a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetables and fruit and low in saturated fats can help us all live longer.

A major Europe study of nearly 75,000 men and women aged over 60 carried out in 2005 indicated that those closely following the diet can actually extend life by up to one year. The study, led by University of Athens Medical School, was published in the British Medical Journal.

Now a new health pill created from tomatoes has been launched in Britain this month. Ateronon capsules are said to offer the benefits of a Mediterranean diet, which is known to prevent heart disease and strokes. Developed by scientists at Cambridge University, the supplement uses Lycopene, a chemical found in the skin of ripe tomatoes and has been shown to eliminate nearly all the harmful fats in the blood within eight weeks.

Researchers say that the compound found in tomatoes may fight off heart disease and prevent strokes and heart attacks by blocking LDL cholesterol - the bad type of cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is what causes most blocks in arteries and causes bad heart and circulation issues.

Lycopene is naturally found in the skin of tomatoes, among other places, but is difficult for the body to absorb from the tomato skin. Extracting the compound and putting it in pill form makes it much easier to deliver to the body and allows for higher concentration levels than simply eating the fruit allows for. Researchers at Nestle have mixed the compound with a milk protein and licensed the process to Cambridge Theranostics.