Ditch the aspirin, try tomato seeds!
Forget a daily dose of aspirin for thinning the blood, a natural ingredient found in tomato seeds has now been identified by British scientists as a key component to a long and healthy life.
A new gel made from tomato seeds is being touted as a natural alternative to aspirin. Derived from the gel around tomato seeds, the gel prevents the blood from becoming sticky and clotting. Clinical trials have shown it can help maintain a healthy blood circulation by preventing the clumping of blood platelets which can lead to clots.
Discovered by food researchers investigating the benefits of a Mediterranean diet, the product has now been patented as ‘Fruitflow’. It is already being used in one fruit juice product and is now expected to be added to dairy drinks, spreads and other foods.
EU health watchdogs have accepted that the inredient does improve blood flow and have approved the use of such claims on packaging.
Both Fruitflow and aspirin work by changing the characteristics of platelets, which are tiny cells in the blood. Normally they are smooth, but inflammation in the blood vessels – linked to smoking, high cholesterol and stress – causes them to become spiky and so stick together, forming clots.
Aspirin strongly blocks one set of signals that causes this to happen. Fruitflow more gently damps down three others, enough to reduce the risk of clotting without the side effects of heavy aspirin consumption such as bleeding in the stomach and ulcers.
Research shows that a smoother blood flow can be seen within three hours of taking Fruitflow and the results can last up to 18 hours, making it ideal for daily consumption. The gel, which is colourless and tasteless, is extracted from tomato seeds and can then be added to a range of foods without changing their characteristics.
It is currently added to Sirco, a range of 100 per cent pure fruit juices available from Waitrose, Ocado and some health food shops.
Amy Lindsay – MyFaceMyBody.com Journalist
