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Berries and Cardiovascular Disease
With this and the next essay, let's have a look at recent research developments showing the potential for lowering your risk against cardiovascular diseases by having berries in your diet!
We'll look at one recent advance from research on individual berries.
Disease Markers
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hypertension (abnormally high blood pressure)
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high blood cholesterol
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heart disease resulting from obstructed arteries
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susceptibility to abnormal blood clotting
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stroke or vasospasm related dementia
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impairment of vascular function in aging
Açaí berries (Euterpe oleracea Mart.)
Açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.)
Blackcurrants (Ribes nigrum L.)
Blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.)
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a concentrate of blackcurrant juice
improved blood flow responsiveness in a laboratory model of vascular disease (interpreted as the same mechanism produced by acai extract) --
click on the red words to view a research abstract!
Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.)
Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.)
Blackberries (Rubus ursinus) and Scottish red Tayberries (Rubus idaeus x ursinus)
Blackberry (Rubus ursinus L.)
What is the common effect from these experiments and why is this important?
1. in each case, the positive effect was mediated by berry polyphenols called anthocyanins -- the class of natural plant compounds giving berries their dark colors
2. the most common anthocyanin among these berries is called cyanidin-3-glucoside
3. it's possible that having berries in your diet can provide adequate levels of cyanidin to improve blood flow, minimize effects of stroke and prevent cell damage by oxygen radicals in blood vessel walls
4. these results require much more basic research to be better defined and have not been confirmed yet in humans
Next!
We'll look at more advanced cardiovascular research in humans from studies using red grapes, strawberries or cranberries!
