Lyc-O-Mato®

The tomato extract sold as Lyc-O-Mato by a number of different companies has been shown to reduce blood pressure (BP) for treated but not completely controlled hypertensive individuals, as well as for never-treated men and women in the category of “prehypertension” with readings between 120/80 and 139/89. Two studies have been conducted at the University of the Negev in Beer Sheva, Israel, by Dr. Esther Paran and her associates.

Published in the American Heart Journal, the first study involved 31 men and women who had not taken prescription drugs but who had blood pressure readings of 140/90 to 159/99. This was a placebo-controlled study with a single 15-mg dose of the Lyc-O-Mato. During the treatment period, average systolic (top number) BP fell from an average of 144 to 134 while average diastolic (lower number) went from 87.4 to 83.4. That’s about the improvement doctors expect from a single prescription drug.

In the second study, Dr. Paran and her colleagues worked with patients whose blood pressure was not completely normalized by a single prescription drug. Normally either dosage would be increased or another drug added. Half the study group received increased drug dosage while the others got Lyc-O-Mato. BP dropped by 8 to 11 points systolic and 3 to 5 points diastolic.

A 15-mg Lyc-O-Mato tomato extract gelcap contains lycopene, 1 mg of phytofluene, 1 mg of phytoene, and the antioxidants beta-carotene and vitamin E. Subsequent investigations show that products containing lycopene alone, far more commonly sold, do NOT have the blood pressure-lowering effect. Look for the Lyc-O-Mato logo on a variety of brands of products.

For more information and to find how to buy Lyc-O-Mato, go to the website www.lycored.com.

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