The consumption of dietary berries has a profound effect on improving metabolic syndrome and has been shown to lower cardiometabolic risk. A study published in ‘Nutrients’ evaluated the effects of two dietary achievable doses of strawberries on glycemic control and lipid profiles in obese adults with elevated serum LDL cholesterol (LDL-C).

      The 14-week multicentre, randomized, double-blind controlled, crossover trial enrolled adult men and women with one or more features of metabolic syndrome such as abdominal adiposity, body mass index (BMI) in the obese range (≥30 kg/m2), and elevated serum LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) > 116 mg/dL. During each four-week period, participants consumed beverages reconstituted with water from control powder, or freeze-dried strawberry powders equivalent to one serving, or two-and-a-half servings of strawberries each day. Participants were instructed to follow their usual diet and lifestyle habits throughout the 14-week study. Health and medical history, anthropometric measurements, blood pressure recordings, and blood draws were obtained at baseline and the end of each four-week intervention phase.

      Among the biomarkers of glycemic control, a significant effect of treatment was observed for serum insulin and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), which revealed significantly lower values after the high dose strawberry phase, compared to values in the baseline, control, and low dose strawberry phases in post hoc analyses (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.0003, respectively. No treatment effects were noted for serum glucose and HbA1c. In the conventional lipid profile, a borderline significant effect of treatment was noted for serum LDL cholesterol, which revealed lower values after the high-dose strawberry phase, compared to values in the baseline, control, and low-dose strawberry phases in post hoc analyses (p = 0.05). No treatment effects were noted with serum total and HDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

      The researchers opined that the study supports the hypothesis that dietary strawberries when consumed at a dose of two-and-a-half servings a day significantly improve cardiometabolic risks, mainly via improving insulin resistance and atherogenic lipid particles.