Heart Markers Improve with Strawberries

Abundant in essential nutrients and phytochemicals – most notably antioxidant compounds, strawberries are a fruit for which previous studies have suggested a variety of health-improving effects.  Jose M. Alvarez-Suarez, from the Universita Politecnica delle Marche (Italy), and colleagues enrolled 23 healthy men and women, in a month-long study during which the subjects were asked to consume 500 grams (1.1 pounds) of strawberries added to their daily diets.  The team took blood samples at the study’s start and end, to assess biomarkers of heart health.  The total amount of cholesterol, the levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL, “bad” cholesterol) and the quantity of triglycerides fell to 8.78%, 13.72% and 20.8% respectively.  Eating strawberries also improved other parameters such as the general plasma lipid profile, antioxidant biomarkers (such as vitamin C or oxygen radical absorbance capacity), antihemolytic defences and platelet function.   Reporting that: “Strawberries consumption improves plasma lipids profile, biomarkers of antioxidant status,” the study authors encourage “further evaluation on a population with higher cardiovascular disease risk.”