There are many factors that influence the risk of heart disease, from a family history to the amount of exercise to comorbidities such asHigh blood pressure and obesity. But there's a simple way to lower your risk of heart disease, according to a new study.
According to a new study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, regularly consuming prunes may help reduce some of the risk factors that may contribute to your risk of heart disease.
For their study, researchers at the San Diego State University School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences examined 48 healthy peoplepostmenopausal womenover a period of six months. The women were divided into three groups: the first group did not eat prunes, the second group consumed them50 grams of prunes (about 5 or 6 prunes total)per day, and the third group took100 grams of dried plums (about 10 to 12 dried plums)per day to yourself. No other changes were made to study participants' eating habits or other lifestyle factors.
What the researchers found was thatafter six monthsthe women who either50 or 100 grams of plums per dayconsumed saw significant improvements in their total cholesterol and their HDL, or “good” cholesterol. Both can influence a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
The study participants who consumed prunes also had theValues von two Inflammatory indicators– Interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha –reduced, which are known to contribute to the risk of heart disease.
“Reducing chronic inflammation and increasing the body's antioxidant capacity is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, along with many other diseases,” says Mark Kern, Ph.D., RD, CSSD professor of nutrition at the School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences at San Diego State University,in a press release.
“Not only does this study show that prunes can be a great way to reduce inflammation and increase the body's antioxidant capacity, it also suggests that consuming prunes daily can helpCholesterol levels in postmenopausal womencan improve,” explained Kern.
It's not the first time that research has suggested that prunes may be an effective way to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. A study from 1991 inAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutritionpublished found that in a group of 41 adultsmen with slightly elevated cholesterol levels(5.2-7.5 mmol/l) the consumption of12 prunes per daysignificantly lowered their low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad,” cholesterol, which is known to contribute to the risk of heart disease.
Reference:J Med Food (2021); Dried Plum Consumption Improves Total Cholesterol and Antioxidant Capacity and Reduces Inflammation in Healthy Postmenopausal; Women Mee Young Hong, Mark Kern et. al.
