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Blog author, Solai Buchanan is an experienced Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator with an MS from Columbia Teachers College. She specializes in treating heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, polycystic ovarian syndrome,and other chronic diseases. She is a provider at a full-service cardiology practice accepting most insurance and staffed with a primary care MD, pediatrician, and cardiologist. Call: 718.894.7907. NYCC is lead by Interventional Cardiologist Sanjeev Palta, MD, FSCAI, FACC. He trained at Cornell-Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and the State University Hospital of Brooklyn. He currently is an Attending Cardiologist at New York Methodist Hospital and Maimonides Medical Center. He is also an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Having performed over 2000 invasive cardiac procedures Dr. Palta’s patients know they are in trusted hands.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

EATING PLENTY OF BERRIES CUTS HEART ATTACK RISK


A large 18-year study has found that while eating plenty of all fruits and vegetables is good for heart health, getting three or more servings per week of berries especially reduces heart attack risk.

The study included nearly 94,000 young and middle-aged women who took part in the Nurses' Health Study II. Participants who ate the most blueberries and strawberries were 32% less likely to have a heart attack, compared to women who ate berries once a month or less – even among women who otherwise ate a diet rich in other fruits and vegetables. This benefit was independent of other heart risk factors such as advancing age, high blood pressure, family history of heart attack, body mass index, exercise, smoking, and caffeine and alcohol intake.

Blueberries and strawberries are believed to be especially heart healthy because they contain high levels of flavonoid phytonutrients called anthocyanins which are believed to promote healthy blood vessel elasticity and prevent arterial plaque build-up and the coronary arterial blockages that lead to heart attacks.   

What to do:  Eat plenty of foods rich in anthocyanins.  These are naturally present in dark red- and blue-colored fruits and vegetables, so, in addition to blueberries and strawberries, they are also found in high amounts in cherries, cranberries, grapes, black currants, plums, raspberries, blackberries, beets, and red cabbage.  Aim for 3 or more cups of these foods per week.  Even in winter this is not hard to do.  Roasted beets or borsht soup are great wintertime favorites.  Frozen berries retain most of the nutrients of fresh berries and can be easier to keep on hand and more economical.  Make berries a part of your daily intake by adding them to smoothies, cereal, oatmeal, or lowfat yogurt.  And, they are also great as a snack by themselves!

SOURCE: Cassidy A, Mukamal KJ, Liu L, Franz M, Eliassen M.  High anthocyanin intake is associated with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction in young and middle-aged women.  Jan. 14, 2013, Circulation online.  Available at:  http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/127/2/188.full

Adapted from articles available at:

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