Two Cups of Wild Blueberries May be a Superfood for Those with Metabolic Syndrome

Most people are aware that blueberries are healthy. But exactly how healthy are they? More and more evidence has stacked up to show the health benefits of these berries. Now, scientists have found a little bit more to add to the pile.

Blueberries are a rich sources of phytochemicals called polyphenols. These have been reported in a wide number of studies to have protective health benefits. In this particular study, though, scientists decided to look at the effects of a long-term wild blueberry diet. They examined Zucker rats that consumed about two cups of blueberries per day for about eight weeks.

So what did they find? It turns out that long-term wild blueberry diets may help improve or prevent pathologies associated with the metabolic syndrome, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In fact, scientists discovered that blueberry consumption regulated and improved the balance between relaxing and constricting factors in the vascular wall, improving blood flow and blood pressure regulation of obese Zucker rats with metabolic syndrome.

"The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a group of risk factors characterized by obesity, hypertension, inflammation, dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction," said Dorothy Klimis-Zacas, one of the researchers, in a news release. "MetS affects an estimated 37 percent of adults in the U.S."

Eating blueberries could potentially help with MetS. In fact, those who are at risk of MetS could potentially add blueberries to their diet as a potential preventative measure.

"We have previously documented the cardiovascular benefits of a polyphenol-rich wild blueberry in a rat model with impaired vascular health and high blood pressure," said Klimis-Zacas in a news release. "Our new findings show that these benefits extend to the obese Zucker rat, a widely used model resembling human MetS."

A regular diet of wild blueberries, in fact, can reduce chronic inflammation and improve the abnormal lipid profile and gene expression associated with MetS. This particular study shows even greater potential for blueberries, since a regular long-term diet of these berries may also help improve pathologies associated with MetS.

The findings are published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism.