COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 23 (Nationwide Times) — A specially made tomato-soy drink, not ordinary tomato juice, lowered three proteins linked to chronic inflammation in a small study of adults with obesity. The finding matters most as a reminder that the tested drink was a laboratory-style formula, not a grocery-store staple — and that the researchers measured blood markers, not long-term health outcomes.
The study, published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, tested a beverage made from tomatoes bred to contain high levels of lycopene and fortified with soy isoflavones. Participants drank two 6-ounce servings a day for four weeks. The trial used a crossover design, which means the same people received both the study drink and a comparison drink at different times, separated by a washout period.
What changed? According to the published abstract, levels of three inflammation-related proteins — IL-5, IL-12p70 and GM-CSF — fell significantly after the tomato-soy drink. Another marker, TNF-alpha, trended downward but did not meet conventional statistical significance. The study also found that plasma lycopene rose 2.48-fold after the tomato-soy beverage.
The drink did more than change blood markers. The study found shared shifts in the urine metabolome, which suggests the tomato component may have effects beyond the added lycopene. In simple terms, the body appeared to process the beverage in a way that changed measurable compounds in urine, but the abstract does not say that translated into any health benefit beyond the lab findings.
That caution matters because the study was very small. Only 12 adults with obesity took part. Small studies can show early signals, but they cannot show whether a food or drink meaningfully changes disease risk, symptoms or outcomes over time. The published abstract does not report long-term follow-up.
For everyday readers, the biggest takeaway is that this was not a test of ordinary tomato juice. The researchers studied a specially formulated tomato-soy beverage with concentrated lycopene and soy isoflavones. The results do not show that standard tomato juice, tomato sauce or another tomato drink would have the same effect.
The study adds to earlier research on tomato-based drinks and inflammation. A separate 2013 randomized study in overweight or obese female students at Tehran University of Medical Sciences found that tomato juice lowered some inflammatory markers compared with water. In that study, IL-8 and TNF-alpha fell in the intervention group, and IL-6 decreased in obese participants. Because that trial involved a different population and a different drink, it should not be treated as the same experiment.
Taken together, the studies suggest tomatoes and tomato-based drinks may influence inflammation-related markers under certain conditions. But the new Ohio State study does not establish a treatment, and it does not justify broad dietary advice on its own. It is best read as early evidence that a specially engineered beverage changed measurable proteins tied to inflammation in a very small group of adults with obesity.
