A research team from the University of Maine has found that two cups of blueberries a day can prevent against a number of illnesses and ailments associated with metabolic syndrome, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, Medical Daily reports, the fruits rich in phytochemicals called polyphenols.
Published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, the new study suggests that regular, long-term consumption of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory rich berries may add years to your life, especially if you have been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, which, according to the American Heart Association, requires at least three of the following health concerns for diagnosis.
"The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a group of risk factors characterized by obesity, hypertension, inflammation, dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, and endothelial dysfunction," Dr. Klimis-Zacas, a Professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Maine and a co-author of the study, explained in a press release. "MetS affects an estimated 37% of adults in the US. Many substances found in food have the potential to prevent MetS, thus reducing the need for medication and medical intervention."
"We have previously documented the cardiovascular benefits of a polyphenol-rich wild blueberry in a rat model with impaired vascular health and high blood pressure," she said. "Our new findings show that these benefits extend to the obese Zucker rat, a widely used model resembling human MetS. Endothelial dysfunction is a landmark characteristic of MetS, and the obese Zucker rat, an excellent model to study the MetS, is characterized by vascular dysfunction. The vascular wall of these animals shows an impaired response to vasorelaxation or vasoconstriction which affects blood flow and blood pressure regulation."
The obese Zucker rats used in the study consumed the equivalent of two cups of blueberries per day for humans over the course of eight weeks, the berries helping to protect their hearts and potentially protect their blood vessels from damage, as the blueberries helped balance the relaxing and constricting of their blood vessels in their vascuar wall, which in turn helped to improve their blood flow and blood pressure over the course of the study.
Consumption of blueberries has also been linked to preventing against obesity, Alzheimer's disease and cancer, and previous research has suggested that when combined with vitamin D, blueberries may also boost our immune systems.
"Our recent findings reported elsewhere, documented that wild blueberries reduce chronic inflammation and improve the abnormal lipid profile and gene expression associated with the MetS," Dr. Klimis-Zacas added. "By normalizing oxidative, inflammatory response and endothelial function, regular long-term wild blueberry diets may also help improve pathologies associated with the MetS."
