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Strawberry

News & Research:

• Strawberries, blueberries may cut heart attack risk in women - Science Daily, 1/14/13 - "Blueberries and strawberries contain high levels of naturally occurring compounds called dietary flavonoids, also found in grapes and wine, blackberries, eggplant, and other fruits and vegetables. A specific sub-class of flavonoids, called anthocyanins, may help dilate arteries, counter the buildup of plaque and provide other cardiovascular benefits ... Nurses' Health Study II ... women completed questionnaires about their diet every four years for 18 years ... Women who ate the most blueberries and strawberries had a 32-percent reduction in their risk of heart attack compared to women who ate the berries once a month or less" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex, 60 Caplets at iHerb.
• Strawberry extract protects against UVA rays, study suggests - Science Daily, 8/3/12 - "The team prepared human skin cell cultures (fibroblasts) and added strawberry extract in different concentrations (0.05, 0.25 and 0.5 mg/ml), the only exception being the control extract. Using ultraviolet light, the samples were then exposed to a dose "equivalent to 90 minutes of midday summer sun in the French Riviera." ... the strawberry extract, especially at a concentration of 0.5 mg/ml, displays photoprotective properties in those fibroblasts exposed to UVA radiation, it increases cell survival and viability and decreases damage in the DNA when compared with control cells ... But what molecules give strawberries their photoprotective properties? Scientists suspect that it could be the anthocyanins, which are pigments that give leaves, flowers and fruits their red colour" - See Natural Factors, BlueRich Super Strength Blueberry Concentrate, 500 mg, 90 Softgels (yielding 2.5% anthocyanins) at iherb.
• Eating more berries may reduce cognitive decline in the elderly - Science Daily, 4/26/12 - "The research team used data from the Nurses' Health Study -- a cohort of 121,700 female, registered nurses between the ages of 30 and 55 who completed health and lifestyle questionnaires beginning in 1976 ... increased consumption of blueberries and strawberries appear to slow cognitive decline in older women. A greater intake of anthocyanidins and total flavonoids was also associated with reduce cognitive degeneration. Researchers observed that women who had higher berry intake delayed cognitive aging by up to 2.5 years ... while they did control for other health factors in the modeling, they cannot rule out the possibility that the preserved cognition in those who eat more berries may be also influenced by other lifestyle choices, such as exercising more" - See blueberry extracts at iHerb.
• Eating flavonoids protects men against Parkinson's disease, study finds - Science Daily, 4/4/12 - "This latest study is the first study in humans to show that flavonoids can protect neurons against diseases of the brain such as Parkinson's ... male participants who ate the most flavonoids were shown to be 40 per cent less likely to develop the disease than those who ate the least. No similar link was found for total flavonoid intake in women ... a sub-class of flavonoids called anthocyanins may have neuroprotective effects ... In this study the main protective effect was from higher intake of anthocyanins, which are present in berries and other fruits and vegetables including aubergines, blackcurrants and blackberries. Those who consumed the most anthocyanins had a 24 per cent reduction in risk of developing Parkinson's disease and strawberries and blueberries were the top two sources in the US diet"
• Eating berries benefits the brain - Science Daily, 3/7/12 - "blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and other berry fruits ... berry fruits help the brain stay healthy in several ways. Berry fruits contain high levels of antioxidants, compounds that protect cells from damage by harmful free radicals ... berry fruits change the way neurons in the brain communicate. These changes in signaling can prevent inflammation in the brain that contribute to neuronal damage and improve both motor control and cognition"
• Strawberry extracts as good as the whole food, suggests study - Nutra USA, 1/2/12
• It's not an apple a day after all -- it's strawberries: Flavonoids could represent two-fisted assault on diabetes and nervous system disorders - Science Daily, 6/27/11 - "fisetin, a naturally-occurring flavonoid found most abundantly in strawberries and to a lesser extent in other fruits and vegetables, lessens complications of diabetes. Previously, the lab showed that fisetin promoted survival of neurons grown in culture and enhanced memory in healthy mice ... Mice fed a fisetin-enriched diet remained diabetic, but acute kidney enlargement-or hypertrophy-seen in untreated mice was reversed, and high urine protein levels, a sure sign of kidney disease, fell. Moreover, fisetin ingestion ameliorated anxiety-related behaviors seen in diabetic mice ... blood and brain levels of sugars affixed to proteins known as advanced glycation end-products-or AGEs-were reduced in fisetin-treated compared to untreated Akita mice. These decreases were accompanied by increased activity of the enzyme glyoxalase 1, which promotes removal of toxic AGE precursors ... substantial evidence implicates high blood AGE levels with many if not most diabetic complications ... excessively high AGE levels also correlate with inflammatory activity thought to promote some cancers. In fact, studies published by others confirm that fisetin decreases tumorigenicity of prostate cancer cells both in culture and in animal models ... humans would have to eat 37 strawberries a day ... Rather than through diet, Maher envisions that fisetin-like drugs could be taken as a supplement"
• Strawberries boost red blood cells - Science Daily, 6/21/11 - "The body has an extensive arsenal of very diverse antioxidant mechanisms, which act at different levels. These can be cellular tools that repair oxidised genetic material, or molecules that are either manufactured by the body itself or consumed through the diet, which neutralise free radicals. Strawberries contain a large amount of phenolic compounds, such as flavonoids, which have antioxidant properties ... These substances reduce oxidative stress, an imbalance that occurs in certain pathologies, (such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes) and physiological situations (birth, aging, physical exercise), as well as in the battles between "reactive kinds of oxygen" -- in particular free radicals -- and the body's antioxidant defences ... When the level of oxidation exceeds these antioxidant defences, oxidative stress occurs. Aside from causing certain illnesses, this is also implicated in phenomena such as the speed at which we may age, for example"
• Strawberries may slow precancerous growth in the esophagus, study suggests - Science Daily, 4/6/11 - "freeze-dried strawberries significantly inhibited tumor development in the esophagus of rats ... daily consumption of strawberries suppressed various biomarkers involved in esophageal carcinogenesis, including cell proliferation, inflammation and gene transcription ... Each of the 36 study participants ate 60 grams (about two ounces) of freeze-dried strawberries daily for six months. The researchers obtained biopsy specimens before and after the strawberry consumption. The results showed that 29 out of 36 participants experienced a decrease in histological grade of the precancerous lesions during the study ... The survival rate of this type of esophageal cancer is very low, with only 10 percent of patients living 5 years after diagnosis"

Abstracts:

• High anthocyanin intake is associated with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction in young and middle-aged women - Circulation. 2013 Jan 15 - "We followed up 93 600 women 25 to 42 years of age from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) II who were healthy at baseline (1989) to examine the relationship between anthocyanins and other flavonoids and the risk of MI. Intake of flavonoid subclasses was calculated from validated food-frequency questionnaires ... An inverse association between higher intake of anthocyanins and risk of MI was observed (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% confidence interval, 0.49-0.96; P=0.03, highest versus lowest quintiles) after multivariate adjustment ... Combined intake of 2 anthocyanin-rich foods, blueberries and strawberries, tended to be associated with a decreased risk of MI (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% confidence interval, 0.40-1.08) in a comparison of those consuming >3 servings a week and those with lower intake. Intakes of other flavonoid subclasses were not significantly associated with MI risk" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex, 60 Caplets at iHerb.
• Strawberry anthocyanin and its association with postprandial inflammation and insulin - Br J Nutr. 2011 May 16:1-10 - "moderate-fat meal (HCFM) ... The postprandial concentrations of pelargonidin sulfate and pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside were significantly increased when the strawberry beverage was consumed concurrently with the HCFM compared with the placebo beverage (P < 0·001). The strawberry beverage significantly attenuated the postprandial inflammatory response as measured by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and IL-6 (P < 0·05) induced by the HCFM. It was also associated with a reduction in postprandial insulin response (P < 0·05). Collectively, these data provide evidence for favourable effects of strawberry antioxidants on postprandial inflammation and insulin sensitivity"