Courtesy Foodnavigator.com
By Stephen Daniells, 07-Sep-2009
Consuming antioxidant-rich raspberry juice or tea may prevent artery hardening, and lead to improvements in heart health, say results of a European wide research.
Measures of atherosclerosis were reduced in hamsters with high cholesterol levels following consumption of raspberry, strawberry and bilberry juices and green and black tea, with the benefits were significantly greater for raspberry and green tea, according to findings published in the journal Food Chemistry.
Consuming the equivalent of 275 ml by a 70 kg human led to reductions in fat deposits in the aorta of up to 96 per cent after 12 weeks, report researchers from the University of Montpellier 2, the University of Parma, and the University of Glasgow.
“These findings suggest that moderate consumption of berry juices and teas can help prevent the development of early atherosclerosis,” wrote the researchers, led by Montpellier’s Jean-Max Rouanet.
Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), which causes almost 50 per cent of deaths in Europe, and is reported to cost the EU economy about €169bn ($202bn) per year.
The authors also note that, while all of the beverages exerted beneficial effects, the composition and concentration of individual phenolic compounds varied substantially between the five beverages. “This indicates that anti-atherosclerotic effects can be induced by a diversity of phenolic compounds rather than a few specific components,” they said.
