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Live longer and fight heart disease with Ateronon

7th January 2013 Print
Tomatoes

New scientific research from Ateronon, dubbed ‘the tomato pill’, reveals that having a Mediterranean diet could be the key to living longer.

Scientists have at last unlocked the health-giving secret of the Mediterranean diet, which allows populations in Southern Europe to live up to ten years longer than their Northern counterparts.

After decades of research to establish which of the staple Mediterranean foods has the biggest effect, experiments have identified lycopene, a key nutrient in tomatoes and red fruits, as a principal source of this health benefit.

Ateronon’s latest research has shown that lycopene boosts the elasticity and efficiency of blood vessels, reducing the hardening of the arteries, which occurs with age and improves blood flow.

The research team from Cambridge University has found that taking Ateronon, a newly developed version of lycopene, improves absorption into the blood to levels way above those naturally achieved by a Mediterranean diet.

The scientists used Ateronon, a lycopene supplement, for the research and it was shown to improve flexibility of blood vessels by up to 50%. Not only that but lycopene will help revolutionise the treatment of heart disease and circulatory disease, the biggest causes of death and disease in Britain. Every year 180,000 people die from heart attacks and 49,000 from strokes, with medication for sufferers costing a further £2bn every year.

The two-month study compared the effect of Ateronon on 36 patients with pre-existing heart disease, who were already taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, and 36 healthy volunteers. Both groups had an average age of 67 and comparable blood pressure readings, though those with heart disease already had noticeable blood vessel damage.

Ateronon was shown to dramatically improve the function of the cells of the endothelium, the layer of cells lining the blood vessels, in the group of patients suffering from heart disease.

Increasing blood lycopene levels boosted the endothelium’s sensitivity to nitric oxide, the gas that triggers the dilation of the blood vessels in response to exercise and demand for increased blood flow in healthy people.

If the same results can be demonstrated in more patients, Ateronon could revolutionise the treatment of heart disease. In addition, if it is scientifically proven Ateronon does have an effect on endothelial function, then it could also have a beneficial effect on virtually every inflammatory disease process, including things like arthritis or diabetes, and even slow the development of cancer, which is also linked to inflammation.

Ian Wilkinson, director of Cambridge University’s clinical trials unit, who was involved in the study, said the results suggested that Ateronon might slow down the worsening of symptoms in people already suffering from heart disease.

Peter Kirkpatrick, a leading Cambridge neurosurgeon with an interest in strokes and circulatory disease, is now medical advisor to CamNutra, the company which has developed Ateronon and which sponsored the Cambridge trial, said: “The results from this trial are far better than anything we could have hoped for.”

He continued: “This was a small group, and we now need to confirm the findings in a much larger study population.”

If the results from the next round of trials are favorable, Ateronon could also offer an effective alternative to statin treatment for heart disease sufferers who cannot tolerate the cholesterol-lowering drug.

Until now however, there has not been a way of improving the natural slow absorption of lycopene by the human body.

Mediterranean populations have always enjoyed a protective effect against heart disease from their diet, and dozens of researchers have already suggested tomatoes may be the source of this protection, though until now, an explanation of the mechanism involved has remained elusive.

As Ateronon is a naturally sourced food supplement, it has no known side effects when taken as directed and can be taken alongside prescription medication too, however, it’s always best to consult your GP or Pharmacist before taking if you have any questions.

Ateronon is available to buy online from ateronon.com and is priced at £29.99 for one box of 30 capsules. It is also available to buy in Boots stores and independent pharmacies across the UK.

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Tomatoes