If blueberries are some of your favorite foods then this research should give you even more reasons to reach for your favorite snack. It seems that blueberries are not just good for you because of their antioxidant properties but it has been found that they can also lower bad cholesterol.
Like many fruits, blueberries are rich in antioxidants that are essential for battling aging as well as life-threatening diseases like cancer and heart disease. Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Products Utilization Research is claiming that fighting cholesterol can now be added to blueberries' list of health benefits.
A Fat-Fighting Compound
Agnes M. Rimando heads the team that discovered blueberries cholesterol-fighting properties. In the 228th American Chemical Society national meeting, the team reported that the ability of blueberries to lower cholesterol may be attributed to one of its compounds called Pterostilbene. Rimando and her team conducted the studies to determine if the compound had an ability to stimulate cells to break down cholesterol and fat.
They found out that Pterostilbene binds itself to a receptor called PPAR-Alpha, a receptor which is responsible for regulating lipids and cholesterol in the bloodstream. Because of its properties, the researchers concluded that Pterostilbene is beneficial for fighting diabetes and cancer. In fact, the compound is not unlike another compound found in grapes called resveratrol. You probably know that drinking red wine (which is manufactured from grapes) in moderation is good for your health. Now, it seems that eating blueberries regularly may be even better.
However, since the experiments were conducted on mice, the team is yet to determine how much amount of blueberries a human needs to consume to successfully bring his cholesterol down.
As Effective as Medication
Because high cholesterol is a common disease that many people suffer from, there are numerous anti-cholesterol medication that can be found in the market today. The studies conducted by Rimando and her team have proven that blueberries can have just the same effect as the anti-cholesterol drugs in the market. For instance, the drug ciprofibrate is effective in lowering cholesterol but also causes some side effects. While taking the drug, patients tend to experience muscle pain and some also reported nausea.
Rimando and her colleagues believe that the compounds of blueberries will only produce little to no side effects. This is because the compound accurately targets the receptors of the liver cells, leaving fewer tracks in other areas of the body.
A New Treatment in Development
Due to these findings, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and pharmaceutical company researchers busied themselves developing new drugs that can be derived from the cholesterol-fighting compound. However, if you talk to natural health experts, they would simply propose the obvious--add more blueberries to your diet and lower your cholesterol without the side effects.
A Healthy Lifestyle
Needless to say, even daily bushels of blueberries won't be able to decrease your cholesterol if you maintain an unhealthy lifestyle. Incorporating blueberries into your diet should be done simultaneously with getting enough exercise and improving your diet in general.
