Eating just a handful of blueberries a day has been found to lower blood pressure, boost memory and improve focus, according to a new study.
The purple superfood is bursting with antioxidants, including one called anthocyanin, which produces many of its health benefits and vibrant colour.
While they are known to be healthy, new research - led by scientists from King’s and the University of Reading - is the "first of its kind" to link them to lower blood pressure and improved heart disease risks in healthy, older people.
Blueberries are associated with many health improvements. Previous studies have linked the fruit to aiding diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity and may also help slow down the ageing process, as their compounds can help fight the free radicals that damage our DNA.
The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, involved randomized testing of men and women aged 65 to 80 over a three month period. Part of the group were given a real blueberry drink, while others was given a matching placebo and those who consumed the berry drink were found to display lower blood pressure and better memory.
Over the 12 week period, some volunteers out of a group of 61 healthy people drank a daily beverage made with 26 grams of freeze-dried wild blueberry powder, equal to about 178 grams of whole berries.
Researchers found those who consumed the berry powder experienced lower blood pressure, compared to the placebo group. After consuming full berries, the blood pressure of the test group was lower when compared to the placebo group.
In addition, this group had increased flow mediated dilation (FMD), which leads to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. They also displayed stronger memory and improved accuracy when completing attention tasks.
“This study is the first of its kind and the results suggest that a daily intake of wild blueberries could help lower people’s risk of cardiovascular disease by lowering their blood pressure and improving blood vessel function,” said Dr Ana Rodriguez-Mateos, Reader in Nutrition at the Department of Nutritional Sciences.
“We know from previous research that there are potential advantages from consuming blueberries, but this study went further by exploring how a daily and dietary achievable measure of blueberries could benefit our cognitive and cardiovascular health simultaneously in a healthy older population."
Dr Rodriguez-Mateos added that these same health benefits could be offered by other fruits and vegetables which contain similar compounds.
She explained: “We think the blue pigments in blueberries, the anthocyanins, which are a type of polyphenols also present in other foods such as strawberries, raspberries, red grapes and purple vegetables, are behind these effects as increases in their metabolites were seen in the urine of the volunteers after 12 weeks consumption.”
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