Blueberries for Blood Pressure Benefits – A Medicinal Food?
In the management of patients for hypertension and weight, linked to metabolic syndrome, we will find ourselves saying – eat more fruits and vegetables without always giving them our full attention – well I do anyway!
A paper just out in the Journal of Nutrition describes the effects of consuming 50gm of freeze dried blueberry smoothie equivalent they suggest to -350g of fresh blueberries for eight weeks by 48 participants (44 women & 4 men) with an average age of 50 and BMI of 38kg/m2.[1]
This was not just a simple watch and see trial, they randomised it with a placebo, so whilst the numbers are small the methodology is sound. The controls were asked to consume 960ml of water daily – even this had an effect as I have previously described.
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The immune system is prone to the same grave misfortunes as any defense system handling weapons: collateral damage that comes with the destruction of the enemy on one’s own territory and friendly fire due to mistaken identity. Whereas the collateral damage is the price we pay for clearance of infections, autoimmunity is a pathological process. Nevertheless, the effector mechanisms involved in both processes are the same. Whether environment can be a cause, a trigger or an amplifier of an autoimmune disease are questions that are being intensively investigated.
