Tomato-based functional food as interferon adjuvant

[Rockerforlife]

Goals: The authors conducted a study to verify whether supplementation with an antioxidant-rich tomato-based functional food reduces anemia during pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C. Background: Oxidative stress plays a major role in the physiopathology of hemolytic anemia during ribavirin therapy. The efficacy of antioxidant supplementation with vitamins C and E as pure compounds, is still controversial. Methods: A functional food with a high content of natural antioxidants and with high carotenoid bioavailability was developed. The authors enrolled 92 patients with chronic hepatitis C, treated with standard combination therapy. Forty-six ofthem received a daily dose (100 g) of functional food (group 1), and 46 did not (group 2). The effect of antioxidant activity was assessed comparing compliance with the full dose of ribavirin and hemoglobin levels during the first 3 months of treatment. Results: Only 8.7% of patients in group I had to reduce their daily ribavirin dose, whereas ribavirin reduction was necessary for 30.4% of patients in group 2 (P = 0.09). Hemoglobin levels showed significant differences at 15, 30, and 90 days during the observation time. Conclusion: Results demonstrated that the authors' functional food reduces the severity of ribavirin-related anemia and improves the tolerance to the full dose of ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C.



http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15926688

[WriteItDown]

I am so sorry your husband had to have a transfusion!  I do hope this might help some -- I know what you mean about the info being hard to implement.  I admit I felt a bit pushy, writing this guy (Vincenzo Fogliano) in Italy out of the blue, but he was extremely nice, and I'm glad I did.

My plan is to mix the stuff with some homemade tomato sauce that I make with whole tomatoes, so it won't be quite as thick.  Then hopefully my husband won't mind eating it as a soup or a pasta sauce.  Vincenzo also advised mixing it with meat -- I guess you could make a meat sauce with it.  The Italians eat tons of tomato sauce so probably it wasn't a big leap for them, but 100 grams isn't really very much.  I hope my husband will find it palatable.

I have not been able to find triple concentrate yet, though I did find double pretty easily, it's in tubes, not cans. I will use the double if I can't find triple.

Sending good wishes for your husband to feel better.

[evangelin]

Oh my gosh.  Thank you so much for this.  It always drives me crazy when I read this stuff that has the chance of helping but there isn't enough information to implement it . My husband has already had to have one transfusion.  I will probably have to give him prilosec before he tries this.  It sounds pretty potent and a little nauseating but worth trying for sure. Do they have triple concentrated tomato paste at the grocery store?
Thanks again for sharing this,
Ev

[WriteItDown]

Hey, just wanted to let you know I wrote to the guy who authored this study and he gave me the recipe, which I plan to feed to my husband.  He said to use a triple-concentrate tomato paste (Italian), and dilute it with 10% of a high-polyphenol olive oil (usually somewhat astringent-tasting, often made with Tuscan olives.)  He said 100 grams per day of the stuff.  What the heck, I'm going to give it a try.

[choprchk]

Very coincidental!  I was craving tomatoes this past week and also bought soy nuts which I hadn't eaten in years.  I became anemic around July 1st.  AND I havn't read the article you refer to....I swear, our bodies are sooooo amazing.....can't say much for my brain (hahaha) but the body seems to know what it needs!!!!  Thanks Rocker!

[Rockerforlife]

There are tomato extracts

[IMstacie]

Wow, I've been craving tomato based foods!  It's actually all I want to eat and the only dishes that taste good to me.  Maybe it my body telling me something - my nutrophils are around 500.