Drinking a specially formulated tomato-soy juice rich in plant compounds linked to health benefits reduced several markers of inflammation in adults with obesity after just four weeks, according to new research.
The findings suggest the beverage could serve as a functional food capable of helping control chronic inflammation, a process that contributes to many long-term health conditions.
Researchers found that the juice, which contains high levels of lycopene and soy isoflavones, significantly lowered blood concentrations of three proteins associated with systemic inflammation when compared with a control tomato juice that lacked those compounds.
"The idea is, can we use food-based interventions to modulate inflammation?" said lead author Jessica Cooperstone, associate professor of horticulture and crop science at The Ohio State University. "And can we test this in a rigorous way so that we can really see this is affecting inflammation, versus just saying something is anti-inflammatory?"
Building on these results and other supporting evidence, Cooperstone and colleagues have secured funding from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for a pilot clinical trial investigating whether the same tomato-soy juice can reduce inflammation in people with pancreatitis.
