Scientists reviewed 83 studies — and found another reason to eat more berries

 How many berries are you getting in the hospital? I had none except when Mom brought strawberries(Yes, strawberries do contain anthocyanins. These natural pigments give the fruit its bright red color and act as antioxidants)

Scientists reviewed 83 studies — and found another reason to eat more berries

New findings highlight the potential role of a naturally occurring plant compound in supporting long-term heart health.m

Key Points

• People with the highest anthocyanin intake had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension than those with the lowest intake, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis.
• Randomized controlled trials found that anthocyanin-rich foods improved blood vessel function and lowered fasting insulin levels in healthy adults.
• As little as 50 milligrams of anthocyanins per day was associated with improvements in some cardiovascular and metabolic measures, though not every outcome improved at that intake.

Your morning habit of tossing a handful of blueberries into your yogurt or smoothie may be doing more for your heart than you realized. 

In July, researchers from Tufts University Medical Center, Norwich Medical School, and Queen’s University Belfast published findings from a new systematic review and meta-analysis showing that people with higher intakes of anthocyanins — the pigments that give blueberries, cherries, and red cabbage their deep color — had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. 

The study, published in July in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is the first review to combine long-term population data with randomized controlled trials specifically in healthy people, rather than folding in participants who already had heart disease or diabetes.

To understand how anthocyanins affect heart health, the researchers pooled data from 18 cohort studies and found that people with the highest anthocyanin intake had a 26% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, an 18% lower risk of heart attack, an 11% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and an 8% lower risk of hypertension than those who ate the least.

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Response in the Brain, Study Finds

Beyond finding the data, the team also reviewed 65 randomized controlled trials to understand why people were seeing such positive results. They found that eating more anthocyanin-rich foods improved “flow-mediated dilation,” a measure of how well blood vessels expand and relax, both immediately after eating and over weeks of regular consumption. The researchers also found that anthocyanin lowered fasting insulin levels. 

“This study suggests that simple and achievable dietary changes could have a significant impact in reducing the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes,” Aedín Cassidy, the study’s lead investigator and chair of nutrition and preventive medicine at Queen’s University Belfast, said in a statement.

Perhaps the best news is that the daily dose of anthocyanin that made a difference was hardly extreme. The team found that doses as low as 50 milligrams a day, an amount they noted is realistically achieved through food alone, can show improvements. After all, a cup of blueberries contains roughly 150 to 160 milligrams of anthocyanins alone. It is important to note, however, that not every endpoint improved at this dose, and the paper did not show a clear dose-response across outcomes.

It is important to note that this study was funded by the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council under USDA oversight. However, the organization stated it had no oversight of the findings. And, of course, you can always get anthocyanins from other fruits and vegetables, such as blackberries, cherries, pomegranates, purple potatoes, and red cabbage. 

Foods naturally rich in anthocyanins

Anthocyanins are naturally occurring plant compounds that give many fruits and vegetables their deep blue, purple, and red hues. While blueberries are one of the best-known sources, they’re far from the only way to add more of these colorful pigments to your diet. Foods high in anthocyanins include:

• Blueberries: Stir them into yogurt or oatmeal or toss a handful onto cereal.
• Blackberries: Add them to a fruit salad or mix them into overnight oats.
• Black raspberries: Fold them into yogurt, blend them into smoothies, or use them to top pancakes or waffles.
• Cherries: Snack on fresh cherries in season, add them to salads, or stir frozen cherries into oatmeal as they warm.
• Blackcurrants: Blend frozen blackcurrants into smoothies or mix dried blackcurrants into trail mix.
• Red and purple grapes: Eat them as a snack, freeze them for a refreshing treat, or slice them into chicken or green salads.
• Red cabbage: Shred it into tacos, sandwiches, or slaws, or roast wedges until they’re lightly caramelized.
• Purple cabbage: Toss it into stir-fries, salads, or grain bowls for extra crunch and color.
• Purple potatoes: Roast them with olive oil and herbs, mash them, or swap them in for regular potatoes in potato salad.
• Purple sweet potatoes: Bake them whole, cube and roast them for grain bowls, or mash them as a colorful side dish.
• Eggplant: Roast, grill, or sauté it with the skin on, since that’s where most of its anthocyanins are found.
• Blood oranges: Eat them fresh, add slices to salads, or squeeze the juice into sparkling water or homemade vinaigrettes.

This is far from the only study to find that berries and other anthocyanin-rich foods can benefit your health. As Food & Wine reported in 2025, a large 24-year study involving more than 85,000 participants found that those who consumed the most flavonoids from tea, red wine, apples, blueberries, and oranges exhibited healthier aging patterns. Another scientific review published in January found that regularly eating wild blueberries can significantly support cardiometabolic health, including improved vascular function and blood pressure. When Food & Wine asked dietitians to rank the best berries for your health, blueberries came out as No. 1. And now this new study adds to this chorus. 

Related: Are You Eating the ‘Right’ Fruits and Vegetables? New Research Says It Matters

“Our study shows clinically relevant improvements in blood flow, elasticity of the arteries and insulin levels in the combined trial data, and these improvements could translate into significant long-term health benefits,” Cassidy added. “We hope these findings contribute to the existing and growing body of research on anthocyanins and enhance understanding of their potential role in human health.”

Reviewed by

Lauren Manaker MS, RDN, LD, CLEC: Lauren is an award-winning registered dietitian and three-time book author, with more than 22 years in the field.

Read the original article on Food & Wine

Berry Good News: Daily Strawberries Boost Cognitive & Cardio Health

Which seems to me to be close enough to a diet protocol to have your hospital implement it IMMEDIATELY!

Berry Good News: Daily Strawberries Boost Cognitive & Cardio Health

Summary: Consuming strawberries daily was linked to improved cognitive function, lower blood pressure, and increased antioxidant capacity. The study involved 35 healthy individuals who consumed an amount equivalent to two servings of strawberries daily.

The researchers found that after consuming strawberries, cognitive processing speed improved, blood pressure reduced, and antioxidant capacity significantly increased.

Key Facts:

1. Consuming strawberries daily was found to improve cognitive function by increasing processing speed by 5.2%.
2. Strawberry consumption also lowered systolic blood pressure by 3.6% and increased total antioxidant capacity by 10.2%.
3. Strawberries are rich in bioactive compounds, providing numerous heart-healthy nutrients and 100% of our daily vitamin C needs.

Source: Wild Hive

Daily strawberry consumption was linked to improved cognitive function, lower blood pressure and higher antioxidant capacity in a randomized clinical trial presented today at Nutrition 2023, the annual meeting of the American Society of Nutrition (ASN).

The study was conducted at San Diego State University and builds on previous research demonstrating the cardiovascular, metabolic and cognitive health benefits of strawberries.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted in 35 healthy men and women, aged 66 to 78. The participants consumed 26 grams of freeze-dried strawberry powder, equivalent to two servings of strawberries daily, or a control powder for eight weeks each.

Following strawberry consumption, cognitive processing speed increased by 5.2%, systolic blood pressure decreased by 3.6% and total antioxidant capacity significantly increased by 10.2%.

Waist circumference decreased by 1.1% during both the control and intervention arms of the trial. While consuming the control powder, participants experienced increased serum triglycerides.

“This study demonstrates that consuming strawberries may promote cognitive function and improve cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension,” said Shirin Hooshmand, professor in the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at San Diego State and principal investigator on the study.

“We’re encouraged that a simple dietary change, like adding strawberries to the daily diet, may improve these outcomes in older adults.”

Strawberries are a source of many bioactive compounds. In addition to providing 100% of our daily vitamin C needs, strawberries contain heart-healthy nutrients like folate, potassium, fiber, phytosterols and polyphenols.

Previous clinical trials have connected strawberry consumption to improvements in several markers for cardiovascular disease, including reduced total and LDL cholesterol (TC) and lower blood pressure.

The link between strawberry consumption and brain health has also been well explored in both clinical and population-based studies. Strawberries and pelargonidin, a biochemical primarily found in strawberries, were associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s dementia in studies conducted at Rush University.

Long-term observational studies, including the Health Professionals Study and the Nurses’ Health Study, found that strawberry consumers had lower rates of cognitive decline.

About this diet and cognition research news

Author: Kim Bedwell
Source: Wild Hive
Contact: Kim Bedwell – Wild Hive
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: The findings will be presented at NUTRITION 2023

Flashback Friday: How to Slow Brain-Aging by Two Years

Well shit your doctor has to come up with rehab protocols for 3 more years. 

Since you lost 5 cognitive years from your stroke? Don't let your doctor run away from that responsibility. Screaming may be required.

 

Flashback Friday: How to Slow Brain-Aging by Two Years

The consumption of blueberries and strawberries is associated with delayed cognitive aging by as much as 2.5 years—thought to be because of brain-localizing anthocyanin phytonutrients, as shown on functional MRI scans. Video at link.

This Fruit Reverses Brain Ageing

Followup needed to translate this to humans. Don't try to guess how many pounds of strawberries you need to eat daily. 

This Fruit Reverses Brain Ageing

“At 10 months, the differences between these two groups were striking.” – Dr Pamela Maher

A natural compound found in strawberries can reduce the mental effects of ageing.
The antioxidant fisetin, when given to mice, was found to reduce their mental decline with age and inflammation in their body.

→ Subscribe to PsyBlog for $4 per month: get an ad-free experience and more articles.

Fisetin is also found in many other plants, such as apples, onions, cucumbers and persimmons.
Dr Pamela Maher, who led the research said:

“Companies have put fisetin into various health products but there hasn’t been enough serious testing of the compound.
Based on our ongoing work, we think fisetin might be helpful as a preventative for many age-associated neurodegenerative diseases, not just Alzheimer’s, and we’d like to encourage more rigorous study of it.”

Previous studies in the same lab have found that fisetin can reduce age-related memory loss.
The study was carried out on mice that had been genetically modified to be susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr Maher said:

“Mice are not people, of course.
But there are enough similarities that we think fisetin warrants a closer look, not only for potentially treating sporadic AD but also for reducing some of the cognitive effects associated with aging, generally.”

The mice were given food with fisetin in it for 7 months and compared to a control group.
Dr Maher said:

“At 10 months, the differences between these two groups were striking.”

Those given the fisetin had hardly suffered any age-related deficits.

Natural compound found in strawberries may help prevent age-related diseases - fisetin

Followup needed to translate this to humans. Don't try to guess how many pounds of strawberries you need to eat daily. 

Natural compound found in strawberries may help prevent age-related diseases - fisetin

• Download PDF Copy

July 11, 2017

Salk scientists have found further evidence that a natural compound in strawberries reduces cognitive deficits and inflammation associated with aging in mice. The work, which appeared in the Journals of Gerontology Series A in June 2017, builds on the team's previous research into the antioxidant fisetin, finding it could help treat age-related mental decline and conditions like Alzheimer's or stroke.
"Companies have put fisetin into various health products but there hasn't been enough serious testing of the compound," says Pamela Maher, a senior staff scientist in Salk's Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory and senior author of the paper. "Based on our ongoing work, we think fisetin might be helpful as a preventative for many age-associated neurodegenerative diseases, not just Alzheimer's, and we'd like to encourage more rigorous study of it."
Maher, who works in the lab of David Schubert, the head of Salk's Cellular Neurobiology Lab, has been studying fisetin for over a decade. Previous research by the lab found that fisetin reduced memory loss related to Alzheimer's in mice genetically modified to develop the disease. But that study focused on genetic (familial) AD, which accounts for only 1 to 3 percent of cases. By far the bigger risk factor for developing what is termed sporadic AD, as well as other neurodegenerative disorders, is simply age. For the current inquiry, Maher turned to a strain of laboratory mice that age prematurely to better study sporadic AD. By 10 months of age, these mice typically show signs of physical and cognitive decline not seen in normal mice until two years of age.
The Salk team fed the 3-month-old prematurely aging mice a daily dose of fisetin with their food for 7 months. Another group of the prematurely aging mice was fed the same food without fisetin. During the study period, mice took various activity and memory tests. The team also examined levels of specific proteins in the mice related to brain function, responses to stress and inflammation.

"At 10 months, the differences between these two groups were striking," says Maher. Mice not treated with fisetin had difficulties with all the cognitive tests as well as elevated markers of stress and inflammation. Brain cells called astrocytes and microglia, which are normally anti-inflammatory, were now driving rampant inflammation. Mice treated with fisetin, on the other hand, were not noticeably different in behavior, cognitive ability or inflammatory markers at 10 months than a group of untreated 3-month-old mice with the same condition. Additionally, the team found no evidence of acute toxicity in the fisetin-treated mice, even at high doses of the compound.
"Mice are not people, of course," says Maher, "But there are enough similarities that we think fisetin warrants a closer look, not only for potentially treating sporadic AD but also for reducing some of the cognitive effects associated with aging, generally."
Next, Maher hopes to partner with another group or company in order to conduct clinical trials of fisetin with human subjects.

Source:

https://www.salk.edu/news-release/evidence-shows-natural-plant-compound-may-reduce-mental-effects-aging/

Strawberries lower cholesterol

Living in Michigan is great because almost all year you can buy 2 lbs. of strawberries for $5-6, that along with a banana(potassium) and a handful of almonds make daily great smoothies in my Nutri-Bullet. Will your doctor tell you all the  other ways to lower your cholesterol? Studies also have linked pet ownership to lower blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides
Micropharma probiotics lower cholesterol: But does it really matter?

5 foods that fight high cholesterol

Watermelon Could Lower Blood Pressure

Watermelon juice reverses hardening of the arteries

 The strawberry thing here:

Strawberries lower cholesterol

A team of volunteers ate half a kilo of strawberries a day for a month to see whether it altered their blood parameters in any way. At the end of this unusual treatment, their levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides reduced significantly, according to the analyses conducted by Italian and Spanish scientists.
Several studies had already demonstrated the antioxidant capacity of strawberries, but now researchers from the Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM, Italy), together with colleagues from the Universities of Salamanca, Granada and Seville (Spain), conducted an analysis that revealed that these fruits also help to reduce cholesterol.
The team set up an experiment in which they added 500 g of strawberries to the daily diets of 23 healthy volunteers over a month. They took blood samples before and after this period to compare data.

The results, which are published in the 'Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry', show that the total amount of cholesterol, the levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL or bad cholesterol) and the quantity of triglycerides fell by 8.78%, 13.72% and 20.8% respectively. The high-density lipoprotein (HDL or good cholesterol) remained unchanged.

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. All parameters returned to their initial values 15 days after abandoning 'treatment' with strawberries.

As Maurizio Battino, researcher at UNIVPM and Director of the study, tells SINC: "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."

The researcher admits that there is still no direct evidence about which compounds of this fruit are behind their beneficial effects, "but all the signs and epidemiological studies point towards anthocyanins, the vegetable pigments that afford them their red colour."

The research team confirmed in other studies that eating strawberries also protects against ultraviolet radiation, reduces the damage that alcohol can have on the gastric mucosa, strengthens erythrocytes, or red blood cells, and improves the antioxidant capacity of the blood.

In fact, this year they will publish another study in the journal 'Food Chemistry' in which they will demonstrate that consuming strawberries increases the antioxidant function of blood flow, erythrocytes and mononuclear cells.