Thread: The Fruit That Protects Your Brain

A tomato a day can keep strokes at bay . Order the BLT with extra ‘T.’ According to new research from the University of Eastern Finland, lycopene—an antioxidant found in foods like tomatoes—can lower your risk of stroke down the road. Researchers tracked the lycopene levels in more than 1,000 Finnish men between the ages of 46 and 65 for 12 years. Over the course of the study, 67 of the men had a stroke. Those with the highest levels of the antioxidant were 59 percent less likely to have a stroke than those with the lowest levels. Strokes are caused by blocked or ruptured blood vessels in the brain, neck, or heart. But blockages don’t happen on their own. They’re caused by inflammation, cholesterol, and high levels of platelets in your blood, says Yevgeniy Isayez, M.D., director of Lehigh Valley Hospital’s Stroke Center in Pennsylvania. That’s where lycopene steps in. It soaks up free radicals—damaging molecules linked to aging—before they can lead to inflammation, spur on cholesterol, or overload you with platelets, according to Mitchell Elking, M.D., fellowship director of the Columbia University department of neurology. Your move: Stick to red foods like tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon, and chili peppers —they’re usually packed with the antioxidant