To protect your heart health, consider adding more berries -- specifically strawberries and blueberries -- to your diet. Eating three or more servings of blueberries and strawberries per week may help women reduce their risk of heart attack by as much as one-third, according to a study of 93,600 women aged 25 to 42 published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Blueberries and strawberries contain high levels of naturally occurring compounds called dietary flavonoids, and anthocyanins are one class of flavonoid compounds which may help dilate arteries, counter the buildup of plaque and provide other cardiovascular benefits, the researchers explain.
"We have shown that even at an early age, eating more of these fruits may reduce risk of a heart attack later in life," adds Aedín Cassidy, Ph.D., lead author and head of the Department of Nutrition at Norwich Medical School of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, United Kingdom.