Strawberries significantly reduce levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides, according to the findings of a new study conducted by a team of Italian and Spanish scientists.
The antioxidant quality of strawberries has been highlighted in several studies but this is the first time researchers looked into how the pseudo fruit influences cholesterol levels of a person.
For the study, a team of 23 healthy volunteers ate half a kilo of strawberries daily for one month. To facilitate data comparisons, researchers took blood samples both before and after the experiment was conducted. Researchers noted that the total amount of cholesterol dropped by 8.79 percent. Levels of low-density lipoproteins dropped by 13.72 percent while the quantity of triglycerides reduced by 20.8 percent. The level of good cholesterol remained unchanged, according to a press release.
"This is the first time a study has been published that supports the protective role of the bioactive compounds in strawberries in tackling recognised markers and risk factors for cardiovascular diseases," Maurizio Battino, researcher at UNIVPM and Director of the study, said in a statement.
Researchers also noted that this pseudo fruit also improved other parameters such as the general plasma lipid profile, antioxidant biomarkers antihemolytic defenses and platelet function. However, when the person stopped eating strawberries, all parameters returned to its initial high values within 15 days.
Battino also said that he and his team were not able to determine which compound of the fruit was responsible for reducing cholesterol levels though they strongly believe it could be anthocyanin, the vegetable pigment that give strawberries their red color.
Other benefits of eating strawberries regularly include protection against ultraviolet radiation, reduction in the damages alcohol has on the gastric mucosa, strengthening erythrocytes, or red blood cells and improving the antioxidant capacity of the blood.
According to WHFoods, strawberries are one of the healthiest foods and rank 27 among the best U.S. Foods.
Findings of the new study were published online in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry