LOS ANGELES—Enjoying strawberries regularly can increase the body's antioxidant capacity, which may have a positive affect on heart health and other health benefits, according to a new study from UCLA that was published in the Journal of Medicinal Food.
Researchers studied 21 healthy women who ate about one-half pound of strawberries daily for three weeks. Several measures of antioxidant capacity in the blood were taken. Eating strawberries resulted in an increase in the body's ability to prevent the oxidation of blood lipids such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Increased levels of oxidized LDL cholesterol in the blood have been identified as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the No. 1 killer of women and men.