A True Blue Friend for Your Heart

The millions of people hoping to lower their cholesterol may have a berry good new option. Researchers at the USDA’s Natural Products Utilization Research Unit compared pterostilbene, a compound found in blueberries, to the cholesterol-lowering drug ciprofibrate and found that it worked as well as the drug—at least in the lab.

The study, which looked at the liver cells of rats, is the first to document the effect. (Scientists decided to investigate ptero-stilbene because of its similarity to resveratrol, the cholesterol-busting antioxidant in grapes and wine.)

Researchers don’t know yet, though, whether eating blueberries would work as well, or how many a person would have to eat to see a significant cholesterol drop. Still, the results are intriguing, especially since pterostilbene appears to have little potential for side effects, unlike many cholesterol-lowering drugs.

If further research bears out the findings, we may soon see pterostilbene supplements on drugstore shelves. In the meantime, the news is yet another reason to love—and eat—blueberries.