Green & Clean

Doctors often advise patients with cardiovascular problems, including high blood pressure, to take a daily aspirin to improve blood flow and prevent clots. However, aspirin tends to have a nasty side effect: over time, you may develop ulcers due to irritation to your stomach from taking it.

There is a healthy alternative to aspirin, one that delivers all of the bloodflow enhancing goodness of aspirin without the painful side effects. According to The Telegraph, scientists have recently concluded that the gel that surrounds tomato seedsimproves bloodflow, with improvements evident as soon as three hours after ingesting it. Being both colorless and flavorless, the gel can be added to foods and beverages without affecting the overall quality of the food. The gel has been patented, and is marketed under the brand name Fruitflow. It has already been added to a line of fruit juices, and we can expect it to be found in more foods as time goes on.

Traditionally, the high levels of Vitamin C, omega-3’s, and other antioxidants, as well as the prevalence of healthy fats and seafood, have been lauded as the reason the Mediterranean diet is such a heart-healthy one. It turns out that all of the tomatoes (and their seeds) have had a big role to play in that as well.

While I’m not in any hurry to start seeking out commercially-available tomato seed gel, you can bet that I’ll be less likely to dispose of the seeds and gel next time I make salsa. It’s not clear yet from what has been published how much tomato seed gel one would have to eat to reap these benefits, but I’m guessing that if you eat tomatoes on a regular basis, you’re in good shape.