Tark Cherries CAn reduce Fat and Boost Cardiovascular Health
Lee Swanson Research Update
Tart cherries, relatively new entrants in the superfruit category, have been shown to benefit heart health and body weight, in a study involving obese rats.
University of Michigan researchers found that rats fed tart cherries for 12 weeks measured 54% body fat compared with 63% for those rats fed a "western" diet. This was particularly so in fat deposited around the waist, an area that the American Heart Association sees as a potent contributor to heart disease risk.
Researchers said the high level of antioxidants found in tart cherries was responsible for the heart-health benefits. They noted that cherry consumption may affect important genes and genetic expression and added that tart cherries have the potential to support the cardiovascular system by lowering cholesterol and reducing inflammation.
In the study, the rats were fed either a high fat and moderate carbohydrate (HFMC) diet (45% kcal from fat, 40% from carbohydrate) or a low fat, high carbohydrate (LFHC) diet (10% kcal from fat, 75% from carbohydrate). The diets either came with or without added whole tart cherry powder totaling one percent of the diet.
Rats fed cherry-enriched diets saw a total reduction in cholesterol levels of about 11%. Inflammation marker TNF-alpha was reduced by 40% and interleukin 6 (IL-6) was lowered by 31%. In their genetic analysis, the researchers found the cherry-enriched diets reduced the genes for these two inflammation compounds, suggesting a direct anti-inflammatory effect.
"The findings suggest that physiologically tart cherry-enriched diets reduce plasma triglycerides, central adiposity and systemic inflammation, known risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease," the researchers wrote.
While inflammation is a normal bodily recuperation process, chronic inflammation can increase the risk for diseases and is thought to be more prevalent in the overweight or obese. The researchers said the study should prompt further clinical studies in humans to explore the link between diet, weight, inflammation and lowering heart disease risk. "This research gives us one more support point suggesting that diet changes, such as including cherries, could potentially lower heart disease risk," said Dr. Steven F. Boiling, a cardiac surgeon at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center, and head of the U-M Cardioprotection Research Laboratory, where the study was performed.
Journal of the American Dietetic Association 108(9):A14-A14E, 2008
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