A clinical trial in Spain suggests that eating about two tablespoons of tomato paste each day could enhance attention and mental processing speed in middle-aged adults.
The findings, published in the journal Antioxidants, come from a study of 42 healthy participants aged 40 to 55.
Researchers compared two three-month dietary phases separated by a one-month washout period.
In one phase, volunteers avoided lycopene sources; in the other, they added an average of 35 grams of tomato paste daily.
After the tomato paste phase, cognitive test scores rose: concentration increased by 7.2 points, processing speed by 8.3 points, and face-name association by 0.8 points.
Blood samples showed a borderline increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein linked to brain-cell growth.
Brain scans on a subset of participants also revealed changes in resting connectivity, hinting at more efficient neural communication.
However, the researchers stressed that larger studies are needed to confirm any definitive brain benefits.
Expert Highlights Role of Lycopene-Rich Foods
Dr. John Showalter, an internal medicine physician and chief operating officer of Linus Health, commented that the trial underscores the nutritional value of naturally red foods in everyday diets.
He noted that the low-lycopene phase provided important context for understanding how diet choices affect mental performance.
"We know that people that have low lycopene levels have a higher mortality rate, they have more cardiovascular events and there's been increasing literature that low lycopene is bad for your brain," Showalter said.
Lycopene is found in watermelon, papaya, and red peppers, but concentrated cooked tomato products like ketchup and sun-dried tomatoes offer higher amounts of the antioxidant.
