In another case of getting your nutrients from the food you eat, tomato juice may help stave off the heart troubles that often complicate type 2 diabetes, according to a new study. Researchers have found drinking tomato juice for three weeks had a blood-thinning effect in people with the disease. Tomato juice reduced platelet aggregation, the blood's ability to clot.
The finding may also help people with increased clotting tendency such as smokers and long-distance air travelers (deep vein thrombosis).
As platelets collect, they form the plug that clots the vessels, and in diabetes patients, platelets are more sticky. Platelets are responsible for the blood's ability to clot which, in the case of an injury, is a good thing. But clotting can go too far and cause strokes, heart attacks and other life-threatening problems.
As a result of this excessive "stickiness," for instance, people with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular problems, such as heart attack and stroke. Anti-clotting medications have been shown to reduce this risk.
Pak Tribune August 22, 2004