Phytochemicals in blueberries found to lower LDL cholesterol as well as prescription drugs; cancer prevention also noted
Excerpt from www.Newstarget.com
Summary:
- Aside from being tasty, blueberries have plenty going for them -- including plenty of vitamin C and their position atop a list of 40 fruits and vegetables that contain antioxidants.
- A U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist has found in them a compound that appears to be effective in lowering the bad forms of cholesterol, according to research made public Monday.
- The compound, known as pterostilbene, appears to have many of the same cholesterol-fighting properties found in the antioxidant resveratrol, which is found in grapes and products like red wine, and led to wide reports that red wine was heart-healthy.
- Resveratrol also shows up in blueberries, but Agnes Rimando, a research chemist with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, found that the pterostilbene in certain types of blueberries had a much more notable effect.
- It binds to and activates a cell receptor known as PPAR-alpha, which research shows to be a key component in the body's ability to reducing cholesterol.
- Rimando, who works at a USDA lab in Oxford, Miss., found traces of pterostilbene in just two of 30 types of blueberries tested, deerberry and Rabbiteye blueberries, though she noted Rabbiteye is "a commercial blueberry" commonly found in U.S. produce aisles.
- Extract may be best bet Don't gorge yourself on berries just yet.
- Plus, University of Scranton chemistry professor Joe Vinson pointed out, the antioxidant's greatest cholesterol-fighting value may be as an extract from blueberries, not the fruit themselves.
- Rimando tested only fresh blueberries and checked the various chemicals' efficacy in test tubes, not human subjects.
Excerpt from www.Newstarget.com
Summary:
- Aside from being tasty, blueberries have plenty going for them -- including plenty of vitamin C and their position atop a list of 40 fruits and vegetables that contain antioxidants.
- A U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist has found in them a compound that appears to be effective in lowering the bad forms of cholesterol, according to research made public Monday.
- The compound, known as pterostilbene, appears to have many of the same cholesterol-fighting properties found in the antioxidant resveratrol, which is found in grapes and products like red wine, and led to wide reports that red wine was heart-healthy.
- Resveratrol also shows up in blueberries, but Agnes Rimando, a research chemist with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, found that the pterostilbene in certain types of blueberries had a much more notable effect.
- It binds to and activates a cell receptor known as PPAR-alpha, which research shows to be a key component in the body's ability to reducing cholesterol.
- Rimando, who works at a USDA lab in Oxford, Miss., found traces of pterostilbene in just two of 30 types of blueberries tested, deerberry and Rabbiteye blueberries, though she noted Rabbiteye is "a commercial blueberry" commonly found in U.S. produce aisles.
- Extract may be best bet Don't gorge yourself on berries just yet.
- Plus, University of Scranton chemistry professor Joe Vinson pointed out, the antioxidant's greatest cholesterol-fighting value may be as an extract from blueberries, not the fruit themselves.
- Rimando tested only fresh blueberries and checked the various chemicals' efficacy in test tubes, not human subjects.