TOP to TOE Holistic Therapies by Marcie StancerClinics at Tadcaster and Sherburn in Elmet,
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Strawberries Offer Heart Disease Protection
13/05/2008
A recent study by Harvard
Universityhas revealed that eating strawberries can offer cardiovascular disease protection. The lead author of the study, Howard Sesso ScD published the findings in the Journal of the American
College of Nutrition. What they found was that people who ate a lot of strawberries had low levels of C-reactive protein in their blood, which is an indication of inflamed blood vessels.
Howard Sesso used the data from the 10 year Women's Health Study that involved 27,000 women and compared the levels of C-protein in women who ate two or more servings of strawberries each week with those who ate none. He found that those who ate strawberries had a 14 percent less chance of having high C-reactive protein levels.
The concern about high C-protein or CRP levels is that in is a good indicator of a higher risk of heart disease and stroke. For this reason the levels of CRP shouldn't be higher than 3 mg/L according to the American Heart Association and Centers for Disease Control.
Howard Sesso said that "Higher intakes of fruits and vegetables have consistently been associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Strawberries are a rich source of several key nutrients and phytonutrients that may play a role in protecting heart health."
He further went on to say that "This is the first study to show that strawberries may help reduce the likelihood of having elevated CRP levels in the blood. While more research is needed, this study helps provide more evidence that eating fruits and vegetables will help reduce risk for cardiovascular disease."
Source:- http://www.healthypages.co.uk/newsitem.php?news=5788
