What amount is useful and when its beneficial effects start to become clear.
A diet poor in fruit is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular problems and diabetes. Now, a new study shows that even a few strawberries a day can improve cardiovascular health.
The research was conducted on 36 women and 32 men aged 20-62. Many of them were overweight or obese. Average Body Mass Index (BMI) was 29.8 kg/m2 (at the borderline of obesity).
Scientists from the Illinois Institute of Technology divided them into two groups. One was asked to eat a few strawberries every day, while the other was not (the control group). Before and after 4 weeks of use, the researchers put them through various tests.
Among other things, they checked blood vessel function and blood glucose (sugar) regulation. In particular, they investigated how different amounts of strawberries affect the dilation of blood vessels due to increased blood flow in them (flow-mediated dilation – FMD). A 2% increase in blood flow is indicative of a reduction in cardiovascular risk.
findings
As they found, strawberries significantly increased the dilation of blood vessels. In fact, this benefit was dose-dependent, meaning it increased in proportion to their consumption.
Thus, volunteers who ate strawberries every day had an eight-fold reduction in risk compared to volunteers in the control group.
“A diet low in fruit is one of the top three risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes,” said Dr. supervising researcher Dr. Britt Burton-Freeman, professor of nutrition sciences at the university. “Adding a cup of strawberries to your daily diet may have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health.”
New research Presented at the annual conference of the American Nutrition Association (Nutrition 2024). Results presented at medical conferences are considered preliminary until published in a medical review.