Dr Sarah Johnson, of Florida University, said: “Blueberries may mitigate the negative cardiovascular effects of menopause”
Just a cup of blueberries a day could help prevent heart disease – especially in postmenopausal women.
Dr Sarah Johnson, of Florida university, said: "Our findings suggest that regular consumption of blueberries could potentially delay the progression of prehypertension to hypertension, therefore reducing cardiovascular disease risk.”
CVD is a “big health problem,” according to NHS Choices, who state that there were almost 160,000 deaths as a result of the disease, in 2011.
Around 74,000 of these deaths were caused by coronary heart disease, which is the UK’s biggest killer, according to the NHS.
Dr Johnson said she is interested in looking at how “functional foods” - foods that have a positive impact on health beyond basic nutrition - can prevent and reverse negative health outcomes, particularly for postmenopausal women.
She said that women going through menopause are more at risk from CVD, but believes that her research proves that blueberries could help “mitigate” that risk.
Dr Johnson said: “Once women go through menopause, this puts them at an even greater risk for it.
“Our findings suggest that the addition of a single food, blueberries, to the diet may mitigate the negative cardiovascular effects that often occur as a result of menopause.”
Will YOU eat blueberries now you know this?
The research was conducted by Dr Johnson and a team of nutrition and exercise scientists from Florida State University, who were studying at how introducing blueberries to the diet can help reduce high blood pressure and CVD in postmenopausal women.
Over an eight-week period, 48 postmenopausal women with “pre-hypertension” and and “stage-1” hypertension were randomly assigned to receive either 22 grams of freeze-dried blueberry powder - the equivalent to one cup of fresh blueberries - or 22 grams of a placebo powder a day.
Participants continued their normal diet and exercise routines, during their research.
At the beginning of the study the team took participants’ blood pressure and measured their arterial stiffness.
At the end of the eight weeks, people receiving the blueberry powder on average had a 5.1 per cent decrease in systolic blood pressure, which is the top number in the blood pressure reading that measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats.
They also saw a 6.3 per cent, reduction in diastolic blood pressure, or the bottom number measuring the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats, according to the scientists.
Stiffening of the arteries, or arterial stiffness, was also reduced by 6.5 per cent, researchers said.They also found that nitric oxide, a blood biomarker which is known to be involved in the widening of blood vessels, increased by 68.5 per cent, which Dr Johnson said helps explain the reduction in blood pressure.
A biomarker refers to any of the body’s molecules that can be measured to assess health.
The scientists said that previous studies on blueberries have shown positive effects on reducing cardiovascular “risk factors,” including blood pressure, but they all included large amounts of blueberry powder consumption.
They said that the previous studies requires people to consume anywhere from 50 grams to 250 grams, of blueberry powder. However, 250 grams is equal to 11 cups of fresh blueberries and the scientists said that this “may not be realistic.”
Dr Johnson said that future studies will consider other dosages of blueberries, longer intervention periods and other sample populations.
The study was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.