Blueberries: Is there anything you can’t do?

A new study(i) finds, yet again, that foods can have remarkable effects on our health.

Turns out that eating a cup of blueberries a day can lead to significant reductions in blood pressure in individuals with hypertension. On average, the systolic (top) number was reduced by 7 points in the study (5%), and the diastolic (bottom) number was reduced by 5 points (6%). The effect appears to be driven by nitric oxide, a compound known to relax blood vessels. Levels of nitric oxide were markedly higher in blueberry eaters versus non-blueberry eaters. 

What’s remarkable is that this profound health effect was noticed in a study involving only 48 women. When an effect can be shown to be significant in a small number of people, it usually means the effect is quite powerful. (Drug trials usually involve thousands of people.) 

The blueberry effect is big enough that it could prevent the need to start blood pressure medication for some, and prevent the need to increase their dose for others. 

This type of data led me to start Step One Foods. At Step One Foods, we have only one goal – to help people improve their health by improving their nutrition.

Reference: (i)Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics  http://www.andjrnl.org/article/S2212-2672%2814%2901633-5/abstract