Strawberries and blueberries could help reduce the risk of heart attacks in women. This latest finding comes from the Journal of the American Heart Association and a study that showed that women had a 32% lower heart attack risk if they ate strawberries and blueberries on a daily basis versus women who only ate these berries once a month or not at all. And surprisingly, researchers found this to be true even for women who included a lot of produce in their diets.
Blueberries and strawberries not only taste delicious but they’re power foods because they contain high levels of flavonoids which is known to work against plaque build-up in heart disease. And what’s really interesting is that getting your kids to eat these berries at an early age may even reduce risk of a heart attack later in life.
The data comes from the Nurses’ Health Study II which followed the diets of 93,600 women between the ages of 25 and 42. Data was recorded every four years for a total of 18 years. In that time there were 405 heart attacks.
Blueberries and strawberries come out on top but other foods rich in antioxidants may also keep women’s heart attack risk low. Some of these heart-healthy foods include:
- salmon
- olive oil
- nuts
- oatmeal
- soy
- dark chocolate
- popcorn
- tomatoes
- seaweed
- potatoes
- coffee
Given that heart attack symptoms in women can be — and often are — much more subtle than the symptoms men typically experience, it’s even more important that we take steps to avoid heart disease. While exercise and eating right isn’t always something we look forward to, adding popcorn and dark chocolate to our diets just might be the incentives we need to kick start our healthy heart habits!
