Diet Rich in Tomatoes May Reduce Stroke Risk

A long-term study has found that people who routinely eat a lot of tomatoes are less likely to suffer strokes. Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that scientists believe reduces the risk of heart disease.

Researchers followed the dietary habits of more than 1,000 men living near the University of Eastern Finland. The subjects were divided into four groups based on how much lycopene was measured in their blood at the start of the study. After more than a dozen years, there were 25 strokes in a group of 258 men with the lowest levels of lycopene, compared to just 11 strokes in the high-lycopene group of 259 males, a reduction in stroke risk of 55 percent.