http://www.alternativemedicine.com/supplements/hope-strawberries-and-huperzineStrawberry Beverage Reduces Post-Meal Inflammation
According to researchers at Illinois Institute of Technology and University of California-Davis, a beverage that included nutritional compounds derived from strawberries was successful in reducing markers of postprandial (post-meal) inflammation and insulin response.
The study followed the reactions of 24 overweight people following a meal consisting of high carbohydrate and moderate fat content. Meals of this composition have previously been shown to induce inflammation and insulin response. Participants were randomized into two groups: the first included a strawberry-derived beverage in the meal, and the second included a placebo beverage, instead.
Over a six-hour timeframe, insulin levels and a series of established inflammation markers were assessed, which included C-reactive protein (CRP); interleukin-6 (IL-6), -10, and -18; monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; and tumor necrosis factoralpha. Researchers also monitored the presence of two compounds found in strawberries that the rest of the meal could not supply.
Analyzing the responses of the test group versus the placebo control, these assessments showed that the strawberry beverage increased plasma levels of both strawberry compounds, stimulated an average CRP response that was 13-percent lower than placebo, and an average IL-6 response that was 25-percent lower than placebo. In addition, average insulin response in the test group was also lower.