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Blueberries Fights Heart
Disease, Cancer and Diabetes
posted September 16, 2004
They have potential to lower
cholesterol as effectively as commercial drugs. Blueberries, already known to
help fight cancer and diabetes, may guard against heart disease as well.
The juicy little berries contain a compound called pterostilbene (pronounced ter-a-STILL-bean),
which may have the potential to lower cholesterol as effectively as commercial
drugs do.
Dr. Agnes M. Rimando, a research chemist for the federal Department of
Agriculture in Oxford, Miss., who made the discovery, said she had suspected
that the antioxidants in blueberries might help lower cholesterol. So she
exposed chemicals found in blueberries to liver cells taken from rats. She found
that pterostilbene activates a cell receptor that plays a role in lowering
cholesterol and other blood fats
.
The chemical's action is similar to that of ciprofibrate, a drug that lowers
L.D.L. cholesterol and triglycerides, which promote the development of plaques
in the arteries, Dr. Rimando said. If pterostilbene could be concentrated into
pill form, it might be able to lower cholesterol as well as the drug but without
the side effects of muscle pain and nausea that ciprofibrate causes in some
people, she said.
Because the compound appears to be effective even in low concentrations, people
might be able to get the cholesterol-lowering benefit simply by eating
blueberries. But it is not yet known how many one would need to eat.
Source: Diabetes In Control.com:
Diabet Med. 2004 Sep;21(9):962-7.
September 2004 News Article Index
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