COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 23 (Nationwide Times) — A specially formulated tomato drink may have lowered certain inflammation markers in adults with obesity, but the finding is early and narrow. The study does not show that ordinary tomato juice has the same effect, and it does not prove the drink can treat obesity or chronic inflammation.
What did the Ohio State study test?
Researchers reported in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research that 12 adults with obesity drank two 6-ounce servings a day of a tomato-soy beverage for four weeks. In a crossover design, the same participants also received a low-carotenoid tomato juice control after a washout period.
The drink was not standard tomato juice. The study used tomatoes bred to contain high levels of lycopene and fortified the beverage with soy isoflavones.
What changed in the study?
After the tomato-soy drink, three proteins linked to inflammation fell significantly: IL-5, IL-12p70 and GM-CSF. Another marker, TNF-alpha, trended downward but did not meet the usual standard for statistical significance.
The researchers also reported that plasma lycopene rose 2.48-fold after the tomato-soy drink.
Why do these proteins matter?
IL-5, IL-12p70, GM-CSF and TNF-alpha are cytokines, which are signaling proteins used by the immune system. Doctors and researchers often track them because higher levels can be associated with inflammation.
The study also found changes in the urine metabolome after both interventions. The metabolome is the mix of small chemicals the body produces and breaks down. That result suggests the tomatoes may have had effects beyond lycopene alone.
What does this mean for daily choices?
The most important limitation is size. This was a small, short study in 12 people, so it can only show a possible biological effect, not a long-term health benefit.
That means the result is interesting, but not a reason to treat this beverage as a proven therapy or to assume that any tomato drink from the store will work the same way.
Has tomato juice been studied before?
Yes. A separate 2013 randomized study at Tehran University of Medical Sciences found that tomato juice lowered some inflammatory markers in overweight or obese female students. In that study, IL-8 and TNF-alpha fell in the intervention group, and IL-6 decreased in obese participants.
Taken together, the studies suggest tomato-based drinks may affect inflammation-related markers. But the Ohio State study is still preliminary, and larger trials would be needed before anyone could draw broad conclusions about health benefits.
