Printen
Cranberries voor soepele aders.*
Uit een studie onder varkens blijkt dat varkens
met arteriosclerose(aderverkalking) en hoog cholesterol nadat ze zes maanden
poeder van hele cranberries te eten kregen hun aders weer functioneerden als bij
normale varkens. Verder onderzoek zal moeten uitwijzen welke stof in cranberries
verantwoordelijk is voor deze ader “vernieuwing”.
Cranberries May
Help Keep Arteries Clear
Research on pigs revealed
vascular benefits from powdered juice
(HealthDay News) --
In a study in pigs, cranberry juice helped relax blood vessels clogged with high
blood cholesterol and narrowed by atherosclerosis, according to a study by researchers at the University
of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.
The pigs used in
the study had a genetic defect -- familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) -- that causes them to develop high blood cholesterol, which in
turn causes atherosclerosis and vascular dysfunction. However, some of these
pigs were fed cranberry juice powder, made from whole cranberries, for six
months and their blood vessels started to function like those in normal pigs.
FH pigs that
weren't fed the cranberry powder had much less vascular relaxation than either
normal pigs or the FH pigs that ate the cranberry powder.
The study was to be
presented Sunday at the Congress of the International Union of Physiological
Sciences, in San Diego.
"Since the
abnormal functioning of blood vessels is an important component of heart disease, finding ways to improve vascular function in patients
with high cholesterol and atherosclerosis is critical to helping protect these
patients from consequence such as heart attack or stroke," study lead researcher Kris
Kruse-Elliott said in a prepared statement.
"The value of
fruits and vegetables in our diet has recently been an area of intense research,
and studies like this help us to understand the specific mechanisms by which the
nutrients we consume can protect against heart disease," she said.
The research team
now plans to determine which components of cranberries are most important in
improving vascular relaxation.
(April 2005)