Tomato soup: a dependable lycopene source with a sodium bill

Tomato soup reliably raises lycopene in the blood. In a randomized trial in 60 healthy adults over 40, condensed tomato soup supplying about 35 mg of lycopene a day for 15 days raised plasma lycopene by 123% after a lycopene-free week, and the ready-to-serve version raised it by 57%. The same soup lengthened the time before blood fats oxidized in a test tube from 64.7 to 70.1 minutes, a lab marker with no tomato-free group for comparison. In a small randomized trial with 6 people per group, lycopene from soup made with tomato paste reached the blood as well as lycopene from tablets and better than from tomato juice. The cost is sodium. A 245 g cup of canned soup carries about 644 mg and a whole 19 oz (525 g) can about 1381 mg, recalculated from 100 g, with a reduced-sodium version listed separately.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Condensed canned tomato soup, before adding water, contains 377 mg sodium, 562 mg potassium and 12.9 mg vitamin C per 3.5 oz (100 g) in the USDA reference record. — food composition record, canned condensed tomato soup (undiluted) Evidence E source
  Sodium 377 mg, potassium 562 mg, vitamin C 12.9 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g) condensed; across 13 USDA tomato soup records sodium 22-731 mg
• The UK composition table lists canned cream of tomato soup at 51 calories, 2.0 g fat, 5.5 g sugars and 245 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g). — food composition record, UK canned cream of tomato soup, ready to eat Evidence E source
  Energy 51 calories, fat 2.0 g, total sugars 5.5 g, sodium 245 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g)

What a real portion looks like

• In US survey food codes, a cup of canned tomato soup weighs 8.6 oz (245 g) and carries about 644 mg sodium and 12.5 mg lycopene, and a whole 19 oz (525 g) can about 1381 mg sodium. — FNDDS food code for canned tomato soup, as eaten Evidence E source
  1 cup 245 g: sodium 644.4 mg, lycopene 12458 mcg; 1 can 525 g: sodium 1380.8 mg; reduced-sodium version is a separate code

What your body absorbs

• In a randomized trial giving 20 mg lycopene daily for 8 days to 6 volunteers per group, lycopene from soup made with tomato paste was as available as from tablets and more than from tomato juice. — volunteers after 14-day lycopene depletion, 6 per group, 20 mg lycopene/day for 8 days (n = 18) Evidence B source
  Plasma response to soup comparable to tablets, exceeded tomato juice; half-life about 5 days (all-E) and 9 days (5-Z)
• In a randomized trial in 60 adults over 40, condensed tomato soup for 15 days raised plasma lycopene by 123% and lengthened the lipoprotein oxidation lag time from 64.7 to 70.1 minutes. — healthy adults over 40, 30 men and 30 women, 1-week lycopene-free washout then 15 days of product (n = 60) Evidence B source
  Plasma lycopene +123% with condensed soup (35 mg/d), +57% with ready-to-serve soup (23 mg/d); ex vivo oxidation lag 64.7 to 70.1 min

What cooking and storage change

• In a 5-day study of 148 consumers, adding herbs and spices to low-salt tomato soup (0.26% salt) restored perceived saltiness and liking grew with repeated eating. — 148 adult consumers, 5 consecutive days, three balanced groups (n = 148) Evidence C source
  Herbs and spices raised salty taste of low-salt soup to the standard level; liking increased only with repeated exposure

What it does to your health

• In 20 healthy young adults on continuous glucose monitors, blood glucose after tomato soup returned to baseline within 120 minutes, faster than after white bread. — 20 healthy adults, mean age 21.9, 10 foods over 9 days (n = 20) Evidence C source
  Return to baseline within 120 min for honey and tomato soup vs within 210 min for white bread

Safety, limits and interactions

• In a double-blind crossover trial in 24 adults, 8.5 fl oz (250 ml) of canned tomato soup with up to 267 mg/kg tin from the can caused no more gut side effects than control soup. — 24 healthy volunteers, single 8.5 fl oz (250 ml) servings with <0.5, 201 or 267 mg/kg tin (n = 24) Evidence B source
  No clinically significant adverse events, incidence did not differ from control

Who this works differently for

• In a randomized trial in 33 men awaiting prostate surgery, 2 to 2.75 cups of tomato soup a day raised plasma lycopene by 66% and prostate lycopene 3.5-fold versus a low-lycopene diet. — men scheduled for prostatectomy, at least 14 days of intervention (soup group n 8) (n = 33) Evidence B source
  Plasma lycopene 0.68 to 1.13 umol/L (+66%); prostate lycopene 3.5-fold higher than controls (P = 0.001)
• In 100 Polish women, tomato products including soups supplied 50.6% of dietary lycopene, with intake of about 4.2 to 4.9 mg a day across age groups. — 100 women from Central Poland, 4-day food records, 2006 (n = 100) Evidence C source
  Lycopene 4.17 mg/day (under 30) to 4.88 mg/day (over 50); tomato products 50.6% of intake

The bottom line

Labels vary widely. Across 13 USDA tomato soup records, sodium ran from 22 to 731 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g). The condensed record, 377 mg sodium and 562 mg potassium per 3.5 oz (100 g), is measured before water goes in. The UK ready-to-eat cream of tomato soup has 51 calories, 2.0 g fat, 5.5 g sugars and 245 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g). Salt can come down without the soup tasting flat. Among 148 consumers eating tomato soup for 5 days, herbs and spices brought the saltiness of a 0.26% salt soup up to the standard level, and liking grew with repeated eating. That is a taste result, with no health outcome measured. In 33 men awaiting prostate surgery, 2 to 2.75 cups of soup a day for at least 14 days raised plasma lycopene by 66% and prostate lycopene 3.5-fold against a low-lycopene diet, with only 8 men in the soup group. This is a tissue level, and says nothing about cancer risk. In 20 healthy young adults on glucose monitors, blood sugar after tomato soup was back to baseline within 120 minutes against 210 for white bread, in a study that was not randomized and did not report the soup portion in its abstract. On the can, a double-blind crossover trial in 24 adults gave single 8.5 fl oz (250 ml) servings with up to 267 mg/kg of tin from the can, and gut side effects were no more common than with control soup. It tested one serving at a time, and lacquered cans today release less tin. We found no study on pregnancy, kidney disease or medicines and tomato soup.

Sources

1. tsoup-daily-r5-01 · USDA SR Legacy dataset
   Soup, tomato, canned, condensed, SR Legacy FDC 172882: sodium 377 MG, potassium 562 MG, vitamin C 12.9 MG per 100 g
   USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 2018, FDC 172882 (Soup, tomato, canned, condensed) · checked 2026-09-30
2. tsoup-daily-r5-02 · CoFID dataset
   Soup, cream of tomato, canned, CoFID 17-652: Energy 51 kcal, Fat 2.0 g, Total sugars 5.5 g, Sodium 245 mg per 100 g
   CoFID 2021 (Public Health England, OGL v3.0), code 17-652 Soup, cream of tomato, canned · checked 2026-09-30
3. tsoup-daily-r5-03 · USDA FNDDS dataset
   Soup, tomato, canned, fdc_id 2709759: 1 cup 245 g; 1 can 525 g; 1 individual container 440 g; Sodium 263 MG, Lycopene 5085 UG per 100 g
   USDA FNDDS, Soup, tomato, canned (FDC 2709759) · checked 2026-09-30
4. tsoup-daily-r5-04 · randomized controlled trial
   Intake of lycopene rich food products was restricted throughout this randomized, parallel group study, including 6 volunteers per group. Following a 14 day lycopene depletion phase subjects ingested 20 mg of lycopene daily for 8 days as tomato juice, soup prepared from tomato paste or lycopene tablets. ... Plasma concentration response of total and all-E lycopene to dosing of the carotenoid in tablets and tomato soup was comparable but exceeded that of intake in tomato juice.
   Eur J Nutr, 2004 · checked 2026-09-30
5. tsoup-daily-r5-05 · randomized controlled trial
   Healthy individuals (n = 60; age >40 y; 30 men/30 women) consumed a lycopene-free diet for 1 wk and were subsequently randomized to receive 35 +/- 1, 23 +/- 1 or 25 +/- 1 mg lycopene/d from Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup (CS), Campbell's Ready To Serve Tomato Soup (RTS) or V8 Vegetable Juice (V8), respectively, for 15 d. ... After intervention, total lycopene concentrations increased for those consuming CS, RTS and V8 (compared with the washout period for each group) to 0.784 +/- 0.083 (123%, P < 0.0001), 0.545 +/- 0.061 (57%, P < 0.01) and 0.569 +/- 0.061 (112%, P < 0.0001) micro mol/L, respectively. ... The ex vivo lipoprotein oxidation lag period, used as a measure of antioxidant capacity, increased significantly from 64.7 +/- 2.4 min at the end of the washout period (all groups) to 70.1 +/- 4.0 (P < 0.05), 68.3 +/- 2.4 (P < 0.05) and 71.7 +/- 4.0 min (P < 0.01) after treatment for the CS, RTS and V8 groups, respectively.
   J Nutr, 2003 · checked 2026-09-30
6. tsoup-daily-r5-09 · prospective consumer study
   herb and spice blends were used to enhance consumer acceptability of a low salt tomato soup (0.26% w/w). Subjects (n = 148) scored their liking of tomato soup samples over 5 consecutive days. ... However, inclusion of herbs and spices enhanced the perception of the salty taste of the low salt soup to the same level as the standard.
   Appetite, 2014 · checked 2026-09-30
7. tsoup-daily-r5-08 · controlled feeding study
   Twenty healthy subjects (mean +/- SE; 21.9 +/- 1.39 years of age; body mass index 23.6 +/- 0.63 kg/m(2); 7 men and 13 women) completed the study. ... Glycemia returned to baseline within 120 minutes for honey and tomato soup; within 210 minutes for white bread, choco-rice cookies, fish and potatoes, wafers, and meat ravioli with cheese
   J Diabetes Sci Technol, 2010 · checked 2026-09-30
8. tsoup-daily-r5-07 · randomized controlled trial
   tin migrated from packaging at concentrations of <0.5, 201 and 267 mg/kg in 250 ml tomato soup in 24 volunteers (Study 2) were carried out. ... No clinically significant AEs were reported in Study 2 and comparison of the incidence of tin-related AEs showed no difference between the dose levels (including control).
   Food Chem Toxicol, 2003 · checked 2026-09-30
9. tsoup-daily-r5-06 · randomized controlled trial
   men scheduled to undergo prostatectomy (n 33) were randomised either to a lycopene-restricted control group ( < 5 mg lycopene/d) or to a tomato soup (2-2¾ cups prepared/d), tomato sauce (142-198 g/d or 5-7 ounces/d) or vegetable juice (325-488 ml/d or 11-16·5 fluid ounces/d) intervention providing 25-35 mg lycopene/d. ... The end-of-study prostate lycopene concentration was 0·16 (sem 0·02) nmol/g in the controls, but was 3·5-, 3·6- and 2·2-fold higher in tomato soup (P= 0·001), sauce (P= 0·001) and juice (P= 0·165) consumers, respectively.
   Br J Nutr, 2015 · checked 2026-09-30
10. tsoup-daily-r5-10 · cross-sectional survey
    The lowest intake of lycopene was noted in the youngest group--4.17 mg/person/day, the highest intake in the oldest group--4.88 mg/person/day. The main sources of lycopene in food rations were tomato products (50.6%) and fresh tomatoes (43.5%).
    Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig, 2010 · checked 2026-09-30