Lower Cholesterol Levels with Blueberries

Blueberries help lower cholesterol levels because they contain a powerful antioxidant called pterostilbene (tare-oh-still-bean).

This antioxidant is currently gaining popularity.

According to chemist Agnes Rimando of ARS’s Natural Products Utilization Research Laboratory in Oxford, Mississippi, "The more we study pterostilbene, the more we see its huge potential in the human health field."

Right now, studies on pterostilbene are still in the animal testing phase, but scientists say it will have the same great effects on humans.

So what does this have to do with cholesterol?

The USDA Agricultural Research Service did a test (on rats, but the results will work for humans) to compare pterostilbene to a common cholesterol lowering drug, ciprofibrate.

The Results?

This antioxidant was found to be as powerful as the drug at lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol.

The benefits of getting this cholesterol reduction from blueberries...you get a delicious snack without the side effects of the drug.

Ciprofibrate has several unpleasant side effects like muscle pain and nausea. Blueberries do not.

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