Could tomato pips protect you from a heart attack?

A syrup extracted from tomato pips is the latest treatment for preventing blood clots.

As well as cutting the risk of heart attacks and stroke, the food supplement may have advantages over a standard drug treatment, low-dose aspirin. Aspirin is taken by millions of otherwise healthy people to thin their blood and lower the risk of dangerous clots.

However, last week a major analysis found that unless you have a history of heart trouble, the benefits of taking it are outweighed by the raised risk of internal bleeding. Basically, healthy people should not be taking aspirin as a preventative.

Unlike aspirin, the new tomato treatment, Fruitflow, doesn't cause bleeding. Its effects also last just 18 hours - compared with ten days for aspirin. This is important because it makes the effects more easily reversible: if you suffer an injury or need surgery, doctors have to quickly restore normal clotting to prevent excessive blood loss. Both Fruitflow and aspirin work by tackling platelets, tiny cells in the blood.

Normally these platelets are smooth, but inflammation in the blood vessels - linked to smoking, high cholesterol and stress - causes them to become spiky.

Source - Daily mail