A Juicy Fruit for the Heart
What better gift to give your sweetie than a basket of heart-shaped fruit that's brimming with heart-loving nutrition?
Yes, strawberries are a near-perfect fruit. Tightly packed into each one you'll find folate, fiber, vitamin C, and other nutrients that help ensure you'll never be made lonely by heart disease.
Blackberries, bananas, and kiwi -- oh my! Find out about the unique health benefits of 12 different fruits -- including berries -- in this gallery.
Berries That Love You Back
Recent research suggests that eating strawberries may even help shave down your C-reactive protein (CRP) levels -- which would be a very good thing, because high CRP levels signal heart-hampering inflammation in the body. So eat strawberries one by one, or try something different, like this colorful Strawberry Bruschetta. (Find more strawberry-rich recipes at EatingWell.com.)
Top 5 Reasons Why This Berry Is a Winner
Chocolate-dipped or plain, strawberries shout, "I love you!" with all these nifty, nutritious qualities:
- Folate -- to help keep this in check.
- Fiber -- to help prevent this.
- Vitamin C -- to help keep this pretty.
- Potassium -- to help manage this.
- Flavonoids (like quercetin, kaempferol, and anthocyanin) -- this tip will clue you in to why strawberry flavonoids are so great.
And getting all of these goodies combined in a juicy strawberry may be far better for your heart than getting them individually -- another example of food synergy.
Strawberry intake, lipids, C-reactive protein, and the risk of cardiovascular disease in women. Sesso H. D., Gaziano, J. M., Jenkins, D. J., Buring, J. E., Journal of the American College of Nutrition 2007 Aug;26(4):303-310.
Potential impact of strawberries on human health: a review of the science. Hannum, S. M., Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 2004;44(1):1-17.
