Eating a high-fat diet can have serious consequences–including high blood pressure, weight gain, and even reduced insulin sensitivity.
Research from the University of Eastern Finland reveal there’s a way to stop these adverse effects, however.
According to their findings, now published in the journal PLoS One, mice fed freeze-dried bilberries while consuming a high-fat diet experienced less inflammation and high blood pressure–something that researchers now attribute to its ability to lessen inflammation in the body.
“Low-grade metabolic inflammation and hypertension are primary mechanisms involved in obesity-associated adverse health effects,” say researchers in the study. “Bilberries reduce the development of systemic inflammation and prevent the progression of chronic hypertension, thus supporting their potential role in alleviating the adverse health effects associated with developing obesity.”
For the study, researchers elected to use mice as their test model–animals which have similar, but not identical, physiological systems to humans.
To test out the effects of bilberries, researchers put the mice on a high-fat diet for up to 14 weeks, allowing the adverse effects of high-fat dieting to kick in–causing increased inflammation, high blood pressure, and changes in fat metabolism.
Some of the mice were also given a 5 or 10 percent mixture of freeze-dried bilberries in their diet, however, and that’s when changes really started occurring. Though high-fat diets in general increase inflammation in the body, bilberries prevented it, lowering their blood pressure and other health issues correlated with increased inflammation in the body.
And the reason why? Researchers say bilberries contain anthocyanins–polyphenols that may inhibit the effects of obesity symptoms.
“We have shown here with the HFD [high fat diet] mouse model that bilberries can ameliorate or prevent metabolic disturbances associated with developing obesity, especially systemic low-grade inflammation and hypertension,” say researchers. “Our results further suggest that prevention of chronic hypertension by bilberries may be mediated by anti-inflammatory action. Blueberry intake has been associated with a reduction of blood pressure also in humans, but findings in intervention studies have thus far been inconsistent.”
In conclusion, researchers say bilberries could potentially serve as a way to reduce high blood pressure and inflammation in the obese–naturally.
“Our findings attest to the epidemiological and clinical evidence supporting bilberries as a promising candidate for the prevention of obesity related hypertension and low-grade inflammation,” say researchers.
What This Means For You
While you’re better off eating a better diet, that’s easier said than done–but now a short term solution could prevent its most harmful effects. To keep blood pressure low, adding a cup of bilberries to your diet could potentially improve these health markers, though it won’t help you lose weight, say researchers.
Readers: Have you tried bilberries in your diet before?
Sources:
Wild Blueberries (Bilberries) Can Help Tackle Adverse Effects of High-Fat Diet – ScienceDaily.com
Wild Blueberries (Vaccinium Myrtillus) Alleviate Inflammation and Hypertension Associated With Obesity in Mice – PLoSOne.org
Wild Blueberries, or Bilberries, May Reduce Adverse Effects Associated With a High-Fat Diet in Mice – UEF.fi
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