By studying the diet of 93,600 women aged 25 to 42, who were registered with the Nurses’ Health Study II in the United States, scientists in the UK and America found women who ate three or more portions of the berries each week had better heart health than those who ate them once a month or less, cutting their risk of a heart attack by almost a third.
During the study, which is published in the journal Circulation, participants completed questionnaires about their diet every four years for 18 years. During this time, 405 volunteers has a heart attack, but women who ate the most blueberries and strawberries had a 32% reduction in their risk of heart attack compared to women who ate the berries once a month or less, even if these women otherwise ate a diet rich in other fruits and vegetables.
The researchers from the University of East Anglia and Harvard School of Public Health surmised that the reason blueberries and strawberries are so beneficial to your wellbeing is that they contain high levels of naturally occurring compounds called dietary flavonoids. When it comes to heart health, a specific sub-class of flavonoids, known as anthocyanins, could help to dilate your arteries, counter your build-up of plaque and provide other cardiovascular benefits.
According to lead author Professor Aedín Cassidy, head of the Department of Nutrition at Norwich Medical School of the University of East Anglia, ‘Of course, this study was based in a US population – the main dietary sources were blueberries and strawberries in this study as they frequently eat these fruits. However our research focussed on powerful bioactive compounds called anthocyanins present in berries and many other red/blue coloured fruits and vegetables and there are a number of other valuable sources, including blackcurrant, black grapes, eggplant/aubergines, cranberries, raspberries, plums, cherries and in products produced from these.’
She added, ‘Most of the current research focuses on men or older women and what was novel about this study is that we show that even at an early age it is important to eat fruits and vegetables to ward off a risk of a heart attack later in life. We showed for the first time that regular intake of substances naturally present in red/blue coloured fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of a heart attack by 32% in young and middle aged women.’