Tomatoes Linked To Lower Stroke Risk

[rnewste]

See Article:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2...r-stroke-risk/

Raybo

[JamesL]

Good stuff!
The Wall Street Journal has an article on the same study as well in today's paper.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...394134430.html

I was wondering why the Finn's decided to conduct this study.
Do they have a higher incidence of stroke risk in Finland?

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by JamesL

I was wondering why the Finn's decided to conduct this study.
Do they have a higher incidence of stroke risk in Finland?

This is pure speculation. But I did read somewhere that the Nordic countries were experiencing a fairly high incidence of so called "diseases of civilization" due to a diet very rich in dairy, particularly cheeses. In Finland, particularly stroke. This isn't fully understood why exactly because cheeses are a traditional food that Northern Europeans are well adapted to eat. (less than 5% lactose intolerance in Nordic countries) So the speculation is that as modern industrial civilization decreases the need for highly concentrated, high fat, high energy food sources just to stay warm, not to mention the lower need for outdoor manual labor, that the traditional rich foods are now too much. The other theory is that higher % of highly processed "junk foods" may be the problem. Another factor as to why may be the Socioeconomic differences between Finland and the other Nordic countries Norway and Sweden. Whatever the reason, Stroke mortality in particular is higher in Finland.

But to answer the question, yes, the incidence of stroke mortality is on the rise in Finland, and many scientific studies in a broad range of scientific fields are being done to figure out why.

[Cole_Robbie]

Thanks for the link.

The Finns have the highest rate of alcoholism of all the Nordic countries. The country has fewer resources than Sweden or Norway. Bordering the old USSR, they also had closer ties to the Soviets, and tended to isolate themselves from the world economy. So there are few jobs, the weather stinks, and the vodka is good and cheap.

[svalli]

I have not visited Tomatoville so often last fall, so I just now stumbled upon this thread. For some reason I find Cole Robbies comments almost insulting and I feel offended. There are some truths, but some of the statements are also false and I do not understand how some of them would cause higher probability for strokes?

• It is true that alcohol consumption per capita in Finland is higher than in Sweden and Norway and that is a risk factor. However that does not make all Finns as drunks, it is just that some unfortunate individuals drink much more than the others. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption
  
  

• Norway has oil and hydropower, but Sweden’s natural resources are quite same as in Finland (iron and timber).

• Finland has a very long land border with Russia and has been under Russian rule before forming of the USSR (before that Finland was part of Sweden). Finland lost the WWII to Soviets and had to give big portions of the land and had to pay reparations in form of ships, machines and other products. What this has caused, cannot really be called as close ties. Russification policy under the Tsarist Russia and the WWII has caused deep hatred towards our eastern neighbors, so our relationship with them is quite different what the Swedes and Norwegians may have. Still, this should not be the cause of strokes?

• Finland is not isolated from world economy. Finland is the only Nordic country which has joined the Eurozone. Finland is highly integrated in the global economy, and international trade is a third of GDP. Do you know where Nokia comes from?

• Unemployment is a problem, since the Finns have a culture of high work ethics and unemployment has been seen almost as a mortal sin. Still the unemployment rate currently is a bit lower than in Sweden, so it is not so bad. (Finland 7.9%, Sweden 8.1%, Norway 3.0%, U.S. 7.7%) Unemployment cannot explain the higher stroke probability or is the fear of unemployment causing stress and raising the stroke risk?

• We are up here north almost at the North Pole, but the weather in Finland and Northern Sweden is about the same and so it is also in Norway. Sweden has areas more south with excellent gardening so the people living in Småland and South Sweden may not have te risk of frost and growing tomatoes is much easier for them than Finland.
  I must admit that the weather stinks today since it is +2°C and raining and dark, but there is also fair weather and long days of summer even out the dark winter. I can’t really blame the weather for the strokes.

• I do not like hard liquor that much, but it is true that Finnish Finlandia vodka is good, if you compare it to the Swedish Absolut.
  But the Vodka is not cheap here and it is sold only in the government owned stores.

The higher probability of strokes in Finns may be in genetics and diet. Finnish males have traditionally eaten a lot of saturated fats and avoided vegetables. Who knows maybe there is also some reason behind the ‘ties to Soviets’, which is that because the reparations there was time of food shortages and the generation born after the war did not get so good nutrition when growing up as same generation in Sweden, which was not fighting in the war.

Tomato growing in greenhouses is a big industry here and tomatoes may be the most commonly bought vegetable, so hopefully the younger generations get enough lycopene to reduce the strokes. I will now have more reasons to grow tomatoes and feed them to my family.

More facts about Finland: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland

Sari

[Mischka]

Please try to be mindful that we're a forum with many members from outside the United States of America. Summarizing an entire country's population with negative comments is an ignorant thing to do... and I'm not going to tolerate it.

Please stay on topic. This thread is about a study of the health benefits of eating tomatoes and if it morphs into another political thread...

[svalli]

I just had to do some research online and found that based on some study risk of stroke is not higher in Finland than in other Nordic countries.
http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/...expansion.html

The lycopene study was done as part of a doctor's thesis about health effect of food based carotenoids. This is from the same universty where the study of using human urine and wood ashes to fertilize tomatoes was made. They did also a a recent study about vitamin D-supplements, which may now cause legal actions.

It seems that they are studying a lot about healthy eating habits and sustainable agriculture, which sounds like good things.

[rxkeith]

in addition to tomatoes, dark leafy greens are vital for maintaining arterial health. this is from dr joel fuhrman. my wife is a subscriber to his website and newsletter.

tangent.
finland just celebrated their 95th year of independence from russia december 6th. the city of hancock, mi is one of the few cities outside finland that celebrates the day with a host of events.

one persons bad weather is another persons good weather. michigans U.P has similar weather to finland. snow is for sking, snowshoeing, skating, snowmobiling, and much more winter fun.

last tangent

never mess with a finn.

the finns have a word

SISU. it can mean several things. one definition is never giving up, no matter what the odds are against you. look up the winter war 1939.

end of tangent

lets go tomatoes!!!!!


keith

[Doug9345]

Interesting article.

Sari thanks for a little tour of your country. I found it interesting. I also found it interesting that you are warmer there today than I am on the 43 parallel. The radio just said it was - 5ºC here and we've had very light snow off and on today.

Do Finns eat their tomatoes fresh or in sauces or both.

Since I like yellow and orange tomatoes I found this interesting.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archiv...copene0211.htm

This PDF talks a little about lycopene and other Carotenoids.

https://www.google.com/url?q=http://...Xua729itDRy3VA

[svalli]

I believe most people here eat their tomatoes in form of ketchup.
Every lunch place has fresh tomatoes in their salad bars and fresh domestic and imported tomatoes are sold throughout the year. They keep greenhouses going even winter time with artificial lights and heating.

I think most people eat the fresh tomatoes in salads and make the pasta sauces with canned tomato puree, which is imported from Italy.

That's interesting reading about the yellow and orange tomatoes, it is good to add more colors to diet by growing different kinds of tomatoes and not just have the standard red ones from store.

Now I will go to enjoy the heat in sauna and then it is bed time.

Sari

[Cole_Robbie]

Originally Posted by Mischka

Summarizing an entire country's population with negative comments is an ignorant thing to do... and I'm not going to tolerate it.

I think you're a bully. And I have never tolerated that.

[Mischka]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

I think you're a bully. And I have never tolerated that.

Let's see if I understand your logic.

You wrote a post that relegated an entire country's population to something far less than flattering. I'll venture to say insulting, even.

I say that I'm not going to tolerate these types of comments being posted here.

You tell me you think I'm a bully - and that you're not going to tolerate me?

I guess that's better than being called the usual Hitler, Nazi, Stalin, dictator, etc... but not by much.

[Sun City Linda]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

I think you're a bully. And I have never tolerated that.

I too am amazed by this comment. It is New Years Day so perhaps the brain is not fully engaged. The appropriate response would have been to apologize to the poster who was justly offended by your earlier comment. Now it seems you can add Mischka to the list of those deserving an apology!

[bower]

Originally Posted by svalli

I just had to do some research online and found that based on some study risk of stroke is not higher in Finland than in other Nordic countries.
http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/...expansion.html

The lycopene study was done as part of a doctor's thesis about health effect of food based carotenoids. This is from the same universty where the study of using human urine and wood ashes to fertilize tomatoes was made. They did also a a recent study about vitamin D-supplements, which may now cause legal actions.

It seems that they are studying a lot about healthy eating habits and sustainable agriculture, which sounds like good things.

hi Svalli, happy new year!

I've seen some high quality nutritional research coming from Finland, usually on very interesting topics, like this one on the vitamin D content of winter chanterelles (aka Trumpet Chanterelles). Also one of my family's favourite wild mushrooms here in Newfoundland. Thanks to your Finnish scientists for studying the good things!

[Moshou]

First of all, the study says tomatoes are linked to a decreased risk of stroke IN MEN. The researchers found that MEN with the highest blood levels of lycopene were 55 percent less likely to have a stroke, compared to those with the lowest levels

As far as I know, lycopene is a natural fat-soluble pigment which is synthesized by some plants and micro-organisms but not by animals. It serves as an accessory light-gathering pigment and to protect these organisms against the toxic effects of oxygen and light.

Lycopene is responsible with red color in tomatoes and other vegetables. It seems that ONLY RED TOMATOES could be associated to lower stroke risk. How about black, green, yellow and other tomatoes?