Women who eat lots of berries can help reduce their risk of suffering a heart attack, researchers reported last night.
Eating three helpings of blueberries or strawberries a week was found to cut the risk of heart attack by nearly a third compared with other women.
Researchers said berries seemed to give benefits even compared with other forms of healthy diet.
British and US researchers worked together to analyse details of more than 90,000 American nurses over a period of 18 years. The women had reported details of their diet every four years.
Some 405 heart attacks occurred during the period of research, reported in the journal Circulation.
Researcher Dr Aedin Cassidy, of the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, said: "We have shown that even at an early age, eating more of these fruits may reduce risk of a heart attack later in life."
Victoria Taylor, of the British Heart Foundation, said more research was needed into the berries before they could be prescribed for prevention.
She said: "In the meantime, this is yet another good reason to make sure we get our five-a-day and enjoy the wide variety of fruit and vegetables available to us.”
High Anthocyanin Intake Is Associated With a Reduced Risk of Myocardial Infarction in Young and Middle-Aged Women. Circulation 14 January 2013 doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.112.122408
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