The headline may sound like another superfood promise, but her real message is broader. Tomatoes sit inside a Mediterranean-style pattern built around vegetables, fruit, beans, whole grains, fish, nuts, and olive oil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Research supports that overall pattern much more strongly than it supports any claim that one food can prevent a heart attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tomatoes all year<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In an English translation of her social media post, the physician said, \u201cIn season, tomatoes are my main food.\u201d She added that lycopene-rich tomato sauce becomes the base of her winter meals after she cooks and jars the seasonal crop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read More: In Asia they’re a daily staple, in your kitchen just a curiosity: these humble shoots sweep the gut clean while steadying blood sugar<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nLycopene is a carotenoid, a natural pigment that gives red tomatoes their color. It also acts as an antioxidant, meaning it can help limit damage caused by unstable molecules in the body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A clinical review<\/a> found that cooking tomatoes and serving them with fat, such as olive oil, generally makes lycopene easier for the body to absorb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Fresh](\"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/anna-bartusiak-chatys-cardiologist-tomatoes-heart-health-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Cardiologist Anna Bartusiak-Chatys highlights tomatoes and a Mediterranean eating pattern as key elements for long-term cardiovascular health.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nDoes that make tomato sauce heart medicine? No. Earlier research reported possible improvements in blood pressure<\/a> and cholesterol, but a 2023 meta-analysis found no consistent overall effect on most cardiovascular risk factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTomatoes are better understood as one useful part of a healthy diet, not a treatment or guarantee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pattern matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A Mediterranean-style diet<\/a> is not a rigid menu from one country. It is a way of eating that emphasizes mostly plant foods, olive oil as a main fat, and moderate amounts of fish<\/a> and poultry. Red meat, sugary drinks, refined grains, and heavily processed foods appear less often.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe strongest evidence comes from the corrected analysis of the PREDIMED trial, coordinated by Ram\u00f3n Estruch at the University of Barcelona. Researchers followed 7,447 Spanish adults at high cardiovascular risk for nearly five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Mediterranean groups had a rate of major events such as heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death that was about 30% lower than the comparison group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That result does not prove that olive oil, nuts, or tomatoes work alone. The advantage came from a complete eating pattern<\/a>, repeated day after day. That is where the real lesson sits.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOlive oil and nuts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The cardiologist also makes room in her budget for high-quality olive oil. \u201cAfter fish, it is the second most expensive product in my kitchen,\u201d she said, adding that she does not skimp on it because of its health benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Olive oil and nuts provide unsaturated fats. Replacing some saturated fat from butter, fatty meat, and similar foods with unsaturated fat can help lower LDL cholesterol<\/a>, the type that contributes to plaque in arteries. That is a swap, not permission to pour oil without limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Does that make tomato sauce heart medicine? No. Earlier research reported possible improvements in blood pressure<\/a> and cholesterol, but a 2023 meta-analysis found no consistent overall effect on most cardiovascular risk factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tomatoes are better understood as one useful part of a healthy diet, not a treatment or guarantee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Mediterranean-style diet<\/a> is not a rigid menu from one country. It is a way of eating that emphasizes mostly plant foods, olive oil as a main fat, and moderate amounts of fish<\/a> and poultry. Red meat, sugary drinks, refined grains, and heavily processed foods appear less often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The strongest evidence comes from the corrected analysis of the PREDIMED trial, coordinated by Ram\u00f3n Estruch at the University of Barcelona. Researchers followed 7,447 Spanish adults at high cardiovascular risk for nearly five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mediterranean groups had a rate of major events such as heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death that was about 30% lower than the comparison group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That result does not prove that olive oil, nuts, or tomatoes work alone. The advantage came from a complete eating pattern<\/a>, repeated day after day. That is where the real lesson sits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cardiologist also makes room in her budget for high-quality olive oil. \u201cAfter fish, it is the second most expensive product in my kitchen,\u201d she said, adding that she does not skimp on it because of its health benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olive oil and nuts provide unsaturated fats. Replacing some saturated fat from butter, fatty meat, and similar foods with unsaturated fat can help lower LDL cholesterol<\/a>, the type that contributes to plaque in arteries. That is a swap, not permission to pour oil without limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe pattern matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Olive oil and nuts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n