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Scientists Had People Eat Tomato Paste For 3 Months. Their Brain Scans Looked Different. : ScienceAlert (opens in a new tab)

Scientists Had People Eat Tomato Paste For 3 Months. Their Brain Scans Looked Different. · 2026-09-09

Short answerEvidenceSource

Short answer

Mixed

Mixed.

One claim goes further than the study. 3 other points were not covered by the paper.

  • 2 supported
  • 1 overstated
  • 3 not covered

Checked against the study summary. The full text wasn't available, so some details couldn't be settled either way.

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1

The story

Scientists Had People Eat Tomato Paste For 3 Months. Their Brain Scans Looked Different. : ScienceAlert

Scientists Had People Eat Tomato Paste For 3 Months. Their Brain Scans Looked Different. · 2026-09-09

The story’s checkable claims.

Read the original story (opens in a new tab)
2

NewsLink checks it

Mixed

One claim overstates the study. Two of six check out. Three claims the study doesn't address.

  • 2 supported
  • 1 overstated
  • 3 not covered
Open claim evidence
3
Source paper

Source layer

The 3 papers the story cites

Source study separated from background citations.

The research anchor for the report.

Then inspect each claim

Evidence layer

Claim by claim

Each claim gets a verdict. Expand it to see the evidence directly below.

6 claims in this story

Showing all 6 claimsChoose a verdict to focus the list.

Claim 1 of 6OverstatedWhen 42 middle-aged adults ate 35 grams of tomato paste each day for three months, they showed enhanced selective attention and a slight boost in associative memory on cognitive tests.View evidenceHide evidence

As stated42 adults; 35 grams daily; 3 months

Why this verdict

The cognitive findings are supported: 42 participants completed the trial, tomato intake was associated with improved selective attention and a small associative-memory improvement over 3 months. However, the supplied abstract profile states the intervention dose as 0.5 g/kg body weight daily, not a fixed 35 grams for all participants, so the dosage/magnitude as stated outruns the available paper evidence.

1

Study evidence

Daily concentrated tomato paste intake improved selective attention compared with the lycopene-restricted control diet.Concentration performance +7.2 points; processing speed +8.3 points

“A randomized, two-period crossover trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05891977) was conducted in 47 healthy adults aged 40-55 years assigned to two 3-month interventions separated by a 1-month washout”
Claim 2 of 6Not coveredBrain scans among a smaller cohort of 14 participants reportedly showed tentative changes in connectivity across large-scale brain networks, but the imaging analysis was small, statistically underpowered, and used a more lenient threshold than the planned correction method.View evidenceHide evidence

As stated14 participants

Why this verdict

The abstract-level profile supports that resting-state fMRI found network-level connectivity changes. But the specific claims that the imaging subset had 14 participants, was statistically underpowered, and used a more lenient threshold than the planned correction method are not reported in the supplied abstract-depth profile.

1

Study evidence

Tomato intake was associated with reduced connectivity in frontoparietal and auditory resting-state networks compared with the control diet.

“...and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).”
Claim 3 of 6Not coveredThe trial was unblinded, so the authors could not fully rule out that participants' knowledge of their diet affected motivation or effort on cognitive tests.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The supplied abstract-depth profile says blinding details were not provided in the abstract. Therefore the claim that the trial was unblinded and that expectancy, motivation, or effort effects could not be fully ruled out cannot be verified from the supplied paper profile.

1

Study evidence

Daily concentrated tomato paste intake improved selective attention compared with the lycopene-restricted control diet.Concentration performance +7.2 points; processing speed +8.3 points

“A randomized, two-period crossover trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05891977) was conducted in 47 healthy adults aged 40-55 years assigned to two 3-month interventions separated by a 1-month washout”
Claim 4 of 6Not coveredThe study authors conclude that tomato consumption may support cognitive function and modulate brain connectivity in healthy middle-aged adults, but the article stresses that larger, longer-term trials are needed and that no study has yet proved cause and effect.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The authors’ cautious conclusion that tomato consumption may support cognitive function and modulate brain connectivity is supported by the abstract-level discussion. However, the added statements that larger, longer-term trials are needed and that no study has yet proved cause and effect are not directly verifiable from the supplied abstract-depth profile.

1

Study evidence

Daily concentrated tomato paste intake improved selective attention compared with the lycopene-restricted control diet.Concentration performance +7.2 points; processing speed +8.3 points

“A randomized, two-period crossover trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05891977) was conducted in 47 healthy adults aged 40-55 years assigned to two 3-month interventions separated by a 1-month washout”
2

Study evidence

Tomato intake was associated with reduced connectivity in frontoparietal and auditory resting-state networks compared with the control diet.

“...and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).”
Claim 5 of 6SupportedA new randomized clinical trial suggests that a tomato intervention might affect cognitive outcomes in healthy adults.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The abstract-level profile supports that this was a randomized two-period crossover clinical trial in healthy adults aged 40–55 and that tomato paste intake was associated with improved cognitive measures. The story’s hedged wording, 'suggests' and 'might affect,' is appropriately cautious.

1

Study evidence

Daily concentrated tomato paste intake improved selective attention compared with the lycopene-restricted control diet.Concentration performance +7.2 points; processing speed +8.3 points

“A randomized, two-period crossover trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05891977) was conducted in 47 healthy adults aged 40-55 years assigned to two 3-month interventions separated by a 1-month washout”
Claim 6 of 6SupportedResearchers in Spain investigated how a single tomato intervention impacts the cognitive outcomes of healthy adults.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The paper’s stated primary contribution was to determine whether daily concentrated tomato paste intake improves cognitive performance compared with a lycopene-restricted control diet in healthy middle-aged adults. Although 'impacts' is somewhat stronger wording, a randomized intervention trial can investigate intervention effects, and the claim is broadly aligned with the abstract profile.

1

Study evidence

Daily concentrated tomato paste intake improved selective attention compared with the lycopene-restricted control diet.Concentration performance +7.2 points; processing speed +8.3 points

“A randomized, two-period crossover trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05891977) was conducted in 47 healthy adults aged 40-55 years assigned to two 3-month interventions separated by a 1-month washout”
Then look for missing context

Context layer

What the story left out

Important study details the story did not include.

  • Intervention and comparator: daily concentrated tomato paste at 0.5 g/kg body weight versus a lycopene-restricted control diet, with 3-month periods and a 1-month washout.

    The story reflects a 3-month tomato-paste intervention but states a fixed 35 g/day dose and does not reflect the weight-based dosing, lycopene-restricted control diet, crossover comparator, or washout.

    From randomized two-period crossover trial

  • Reported cognitive effect sizes: selective-attention concentration performance +7.2 points, processing speed +8.3 points, and associative memory +0.8 points.

    The story conveys the direction and relative smallness of the memory result but does not report the paper’s specific attention effect sizes or the +0.8 point memory estimate.

    From randomized two-period crossover trial

  • Plasma lycopene was measured as an exposure marker, but the abstract does not report its between-period change or values.

    The story does not mention plasma lycopene measurement or the absence of reported plasma lycopene results in the abstract.

    From randomized two-period crossover trial

  • General limitations: small number of completers, age restriction to 40–55 years, and lack of abstract-reported p-values, confidence intervals, or detailed randomization and analysis methods.

    The story mentions that larger studies are needed and identifies the middle-aged adult population, but it does not clearly present the age restriction as a generalizability limitation or discuss the abstract-level absence of p-values, confidence intervals, and detailed analytic methods.

    From randomized two-period crossover trial; randomized two-period crossover trial; Randomized crossover trial with resting-st

  • Crossover-specific and diet-control limitations: the abstract does not provide details on adherence, blinding, diet-control specifics, carryover, or sequence effects.

    The story mentions unblinding and expectancy/effort concerns, but those specific claims are not verifiable from the abstract profile. It does not reflect the abstract-profile limitations around adherence, diet-control specifics, carryover, or sequence effects.

    From randomized two-period crossover trial; randomized two-period crossover trial; Randomized crossover trial with resting-st

5 things the story did carry across
  • Randomized two-period crossover design in healthy adults aged 40–55, with 47 enrolled and 42 completers.
  • Primary cognitive findings: tomato intake was associated with improved selective attention and a small improvement in associative memory.
  • Biomarker finding: plasma BDNF showed a borderline increase with tomato intake, with mean difference 15.2 ng/mL.
  • Resting-state fMRI reported network-level connectivity changes, including reduced connectivity in frontoparietal and auditory networks during the tomato period and dorsal-attention-network reductions during the control period.
  • Abstract-level fMRI limitations: acquisition, preprocessing, connectivity metrics, statistical thresholds, effect sizes, and correction details are not provided; modest sample size may limit neuroimaging power.
Then read the study layer

Study layer

Study at a glance

Scan the study first. Expand only the parts you want to inspect.

Pieces of work

3

Evidence read

study summary

Lead result

human in vivo

1Lead resulthuman in vivoDetermine whether daily concentrated tomato paste intake improves cognitive performance compared with a lycopene-restricted control diet in healthy middle-aged adults (randomized 2-period crossover).randomized two-period crossover trialExpand

In plain English

Randomized two-period crossover trial (n=47 enrolled, 42 completed) in healthy adults aged 40–55 comparing daily concentrated tomato paste (0.5 g/kg body weight) for 3 months versus a lycopene-restricted control diet, with a 1-month washout. Tomato intake was associated with improvements in measures of selective attention and associative memory, a borderline increase in plasma BDNF, and changes in resting-state functional connectivity.

Key findings

  • Daily concentrated tomato paste intake improved selective attention compared with the lycopene-restricted control diet.Concentration performance +7.2 points; processing speed +8.3 points
  • Tomato intake improved associative memory performance.+0.8 points
“A randomized, two-period crossover trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05891977) was conducted in 47 healthy adults aged 40-55 years assigned to two 3-month interventions separated by a 1-month washout”
What this piece can’t prove
  • Participant age restricted to 40–55 years, limiting generalizability to other age groups.
  • Abstract does not report statistical significance values, confidence intervals, or detailed methods for randomization and analysis.

2 further details could not be confirmed from the summary.

2human in vivoAssess whether tomato paste intake alters circulating biomarkers plausibly linked to cognition (plasma lycopene exposure and plasma BDNF).randomized two-period crossover trialExpand

In plain English

Randomized two-period crossover trial in healthy middle-aged adults measured plasma lycopene (exposure) and plasma BDNF (putative mechanistic biomarker) after 3-month periods of daily concentrated tomato paste versus a lycopene-restricted control diet. Plasma BDNF showed a reported borderline increase with tomato intake (mean difference 15.2 ng/mL). The abstract lists plasma lycopene as a measured endpoint but does not report its between-period change or values.

Key findings

  • Plasma BDNF showed a borderline increase during the tomato paste intervention compared with control (mean difference 15.2 ng/mL as reported in the abstract).mean difference 15.2 ng/mL
  • Plasma lycopene was measured as an exposure marker in the trial but the abstract does not report the between-period change or values for plasma lycopene.
“Cognitive performance was evaluated ... alongside plasma lycopene and BDNF”
What this piece can’t prove
  • Abstract does not report plasma lycopene results, limiting assessment of exposure confirmation.

4 further details could not be confirmed from the summary.

3human in vivoExplore whether tomato paste intake modulates resting-state functional brain connectivity networks on fMRI, compared with control diet.Randomized crossover trial with resting-state fMRIExpand

In plain English

In a randomized two-period crossover trial in healthy middle-aged adults, resting-state fMRI was used to compare functional brain network connectivity after daily concentrated tomato paste consumption versus a lycopene-restricted control diet. The trial (47 enrolled, 42 completers) reported network-level connectivity changes: tomato intake was associated with reduced connectivity in frontoparietal and auditory networks, whereas the control period showed reductions in the dorsal attention network.

Key findings

  • Tomato intake was associated with reduced connectivity in frontoparietal and auditory resting-state networks compared with the control diet.
  • During the control (lycopene-restricted) diet period, reductions were observed in the dorsal attention network.
“...and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).”
What this piece can’t prove
  • Abstract provides only high-level descriptions of fMRI results without imaging acquisition, preprocessing, analytic methods, or statistical details.
  • Sample size is modest (47 enrolled, 42 completers), which may limit power for neuroimaging analyses.

1 further detail could not be confirmed from the summary.

Finally, the search trail

Method layer

NewsLink found the paper. Tessa takes you deeper.

NewsLink checks the story. Tessa is where you inspect the paper, authors, evidence, and research context.

Papers considered

The selected paper, plus nearby candidates.

PubMed, Europe PMC, Crossref · 17 candidate papers

Candidate

Functional Connectivity in Glioma patients using Resting State fMRI: Effect on Default Mode and Attention Networks

2020 · Crossref

Source (opens in a new tab)

And 11 more candidates considered.