"When it comes to supernutritious foods the blueberry has long had a health halo floating over it. Going back to Colonial times when Native Americans and English settlers ground up blueberries and added them to porridge in both dried and fresh forms httpusda.govdocumentsResultsResearch.pdf there have been hints of healthpromoting effects. In recent years regular consumption of berries has been linked to better brain health httpnaldc.nal.usda.govdownloadPDF and a decreased risk of Type  diabetes http Now a new study httpnewsroom.heart.orgnewsstrawberriesblueberriesmaycutheartattackriskinwomenpreviewdd published in the American Heart Associations journal Circulation suggests eating three servings per week of blueberries and strawberries helps cut the risk of heart attacks among some women. We showed for the first time that a regular intake of substances that are naturally present in red bluecolored fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of a heart attack by about  percent in young and middleaged women ages mids to  compared with women who ate berries once a month or less says study author Aedin Cassidy http of the University of East Anglia. The researchers found other fruits such as apples and pears were not associated with a decreased risk. Article continues after this message from our sponsor To study the relationship between berry consumption and heart disease Cassidy and her collaborators at the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed findings from the Nurses Health Study  http which includes more than  nurses in the U.S. Periodically over the past  years the nurses have reported details about their diets and lifestyles to researchers. At the same time researchers have monitored the nurses health to see which diseases they go on to develop or not. Its certainly not a perfect way to detect how certain foods may influence health but it identifies important associations. Cassidy says the association between berry consumption and heart disease was strengthened when she and her collaborators controlled for other reasons that could have explained the finding. Even when we adjusted for things like fat intake fiber intake medication use or body size and for example exercise we still got these strong reductions in risk Cassidy says. So whats in blueberries that makes them so good for us Researchers have pinpointed a class of plant compounds known as anthocyanins http_anthocyanins.pdf. These compounds give the red and blue color to everything from berries to eggplants to cherries. And when you eat a steady diet of them they seem to have a number of positive health effects. They have effects on blood pressure in animal models says Cassidy. And in lab experiments theyre shown to exert antiinflammatory effects as well as help modulate nitric oxide http in the body which could help arteries stay more elastic and flexible. All of these effects could be beneficial explains Robert Eckel http_staffPagesEckel.aspx a preventive cardiologist at the University of Colorado. But he says its important to point out that the women in this study werent prime candidates for heart attacks anyway. Having a heart attack when youre a woman between ages of  and  is distinctly unusual says Eckel. Would the protective effect hold up for older women Eckel says its not clear. But nonetheless for the first time I think we have some evidence that the intake of theses anthocyanins may have a protective effect. So go ahead. Load up on berries. And if theyre out of season like now studies show frozen berries have similar levels of beneficial compounds."