Scientists made a special drink that mixes tomato juice with soy. The drink is full of natural chemicals called lycopene from tomatoes and isoflavones from soy.
When 12 adults who were overweight drank two small cans of this drink every day for four weeks, three important inflammation proteins in their blood went down.
The same people later drank a plain tomato juice that had low lycopene for another four weeks. Only the tomato‑soy drink caused the big drop in the proteins called IL‑5, IL‑12p70 and GM‑CSF.
Blood tests also showed a small fall in another protein, TNF‑α, but it was not strong enough to be sure.
Researchers also looked at urine. They found that both drinks changed some tiny molecules, but the tomato‑soy drink added extra changes that came from soy isoflavones.
These results suggest the drink may help control chronic inflammation, which is linked to many long‑term illnesses.
Because of the promising data, the team got money to start a new trial with people who have chronic pancreatitis, a painful disease with few treatments.
They hope the drink will lower inflammation and improve quality of life for those patients.
The study was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health and other research funds.