Tomato Juice May Cut Clotting in Diabetics
 (HealthDayNews, 8/18/04)

Manohar L. Garg of the University of Newcastle in Australia, and associates, randomly assigned 20 adult diabetics, who had no history of clotting problems, to drink 250 milliliters of tomato juice or a “tomato-flavored beverage” daily for three weeks. When the investigators compared blood samples taken at the start and end of the study, they found that, for the tomato juice group, platelet aggregation (clotting) had significantly decreased; whereas, there was no significant change in the placebo group. In other studies, scientists have shown that a substance called “P3” found in the yellow, jelly-like fluid surrounding tomato seeds has anti-clotting properties. Researchers speculate that tomato juice’s blood thinning properties may reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack in people with diabetes, whose blood typically tends to clot too easily.

(Journal of the American Medical Association, August 18, 2004)