The benefits of strawberries for intestinal health

kouba01 (80)in #health • 6 years ago

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, "is characterized by inflammation of the lining of part of the digestive tract, which is linked to over-activity of the digestive system. "

"There is no curative treatment for these diseases, but current medications allow for most of the time a lasting control of the disease and a satisfactory quality of life outside outbreaks. "

"Several lines of research are being developed to further improve existing treatments," says an article from INSERM.

In order to control the symptoms to restore a satisfactory quality of life, researchers reveal that the consumption of strawberries can help reduce harmful inflammation in the colon.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a set of painful conditions that can cause severe diarrhea and fatigue.

Researchers now report that simple dietary intervention could lessen inflammation of the colon and improve intestinal health.

In this case, more or less the equivalent of a cup of strawberries a day could help keep the doctor at bay. The researchers presented their findings on August 20, 2018, at the 256th National Meeting and Exhibition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

A cup of strawberries a day

STRAWBERRIES CAN HELP REDUCE HARMFUL INFLAMMATION IN THE COLON

The sedentary lifestyle and eating habits of many people - such as diets high in sugar, high in animal fats, but low in fiber - can promote inflammation of the colon and increase the risk of IBD.

IBD includes both Crohn's disease, which can infect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, and ulcerative colitis (UC), characterized by inflammation of the colon and rectum. People with IBD also have a higher risk of colorectal cancer.

Food consumption of fruits and vegetables has been associated with decreased risk of IBD. To establish an effective and practical approach to reducing colon inflammation in IBD patients and the general population, a team from the University of Massachusetts (USA) focused on strawberries.

According to the researchers, most previous reports have focused on the effects of purified compounds and strawberry extracts. But when we only test purified compounds and extracts, we miss many other important components in berries, such as dietary fiber, as well as fiber-bound phenolic compounds, which can not be extracted by solvents, says the study. The researchers add that it is also logical to study the effects of whole berries because people consume mainly whole fruits rather than their extracts.

STRAWBERRIES DECREASE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES

In their experiment, the researchers used four groups of mice, including a group of healthy mice consuming a regular diet and three groups of mice with IBD consuming a regular diet, a diet containing 2.5% strawberry powder. or a diet of 5% whole strawberry powder. They tried to feed the mice with doses of strawberries that would correspond to what a human could reasonably consume.

Researchers found that dietary intake of whole strawberries at a dose equivalent to three-quarters of a cup of strawberries per day in humans significantly suppressed symptoms such as weight loss and acute diarrhea in IBD mice . Strawberry treatments also decreased inflammatory responses in colonic tissue of mice.

But the decrease in inflammation was not the only benefit conferred by the strawberry in this study. Colon inflammation has a negative impact on the composition of the microbiota in the intestine.

With IBD, the abundance of harmful bacteria increases, while levels of beneficial bacteria decrease in the colon. Following dietary treatments of whole strawberries, the researchers observed a reversal of the unhealthy composition of the microbiota in mice. The team also obtained experimental data indicating that strawberries may have an impact on abnormal metabolic pathways in mice, which may result in decreased colonic inflammation.

Finally, the team will try to validate their results in patients with IBD. Although eating three quarters of a cup of strawberries a day may be beneficial for those looking to improve their bowel health, researchers advise patients to consult their doctor before changing their diet. He also suggests avoiding this type of nutritional intervention if you are allergic to fruits.