The beautiful red and fresh vegetable namely Tomato is good for reducing cholesterol levels and blood pressure levels and thus prevents developing heart diseases, a recent study has mentioned.  So not only for taste but also for its nutrient values tomatoes should be considered in diet, the researchers have suggested.

The group of the researchers led by the University of Adelaide has informed that the red pigments that tomatoes have on it, namely the lycopene contains antioxidants. According to the researchers the antioxidants are necessary for healthy body. Researchers have studied the findings of total 14 researches done in past 55 years to evaluate the effects of consuming tomatoes on reducing blood pressure levels and cholesterol levels.

The lead researcher of the team Dr. Karin Ried has claimed that according to their study findings daily consumption of over 25 milligrams of lycopene can lead to the reduction of harmful LDL-cholesterol in body by more than 10 percent. Among all the vegetables tomatoes are richest in lycopene. According to the researchers daily consumption of half a liter of tomato juice protects heart from fatal diseases. One can replace the half liter of tomato juice by 50 grams of tomato paste because the later one also has the same effects on heart.

Medicines prescribed by doctors to people who have high cholesterol levels have many side effects including weakness, nerve damage and muscle pain. After the research the researchers are pretty sure that doctors can replace low doses of cholesterol controlling drugs by sufficient tomatoes in diet charts. In this way people suffering from a slightly high cholesterol levels can control their cholesterol levels without any side effect. But we should keep in mind that our body can soak up lycopene more easily from cooked or processed tomatoes than fresh, uncooked tomatoes.