A new study by Alvarez-Suarez et al. in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry indicates that adding strawberries to your diet may lower bad cholesterol and triglycerides. The study was based on 23 healthy volunteers adding 500 grams of fresh strawberries to their diet everyday for a month. The result- volunteer blood samples showed a decrease of total cholesterol levels by 8.78%, of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels by 13.72% and triglyceride levels by 20.80%, when compared to baseline.
Additional benefits from the consumption of strawberries included improvements in platelet function, anti hemolytic defenses and antioxidant biomarkers. These changes returned to baseline levels within 15 days of removing the strawberries from the diet.
Strawberries and other soft berries are known for their high anti-oxidant content and several studies indicate a multitude of potential health benefits from their consumption. But this study demonstrates for the first time a statistically significant decrease in cholesterol resulting from strawberry intake.
Pretty sweet news for people at risk for high cholesterol. The only thing sweeter would be…well, chocolate-dipped strawberries!