The Fruit-Shield Against Cardiovascular Disease

Fruit is one of the healthiest types of foods we can consume – we know this already.

Like vegetables, they are packed with flavonoids and a plethora of health properties.

But not all fruits are created equal – some are much healthier than others.

And now researchers have discovered one fruit teeming with flavonoids that fights obesity, unhealthy cholesterol, and insulin resistance.

Citrus fruit contains a flavonoid called nobiletin. It is especially abundant in sweet oranges and tangerines.

When they occur together, obesity, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance constitute a condition called the metabolic syndrome. It is a serious risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The dyslipidemia component is high LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol because it clogs our blood vessels), low HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol because it removes LDL-cholesterol), and/or high triglycerides that are fats that circulate in our blood streams.

Mice were fed a high-fat high-cholesterol diet to trigger obesity, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance.

The mice were then given nobiletin to see the effects compared to the group that did not receive it.

The nobiletin-fed mice weighed substantially less than the other group. They also had significantly lower levels of dyslipidemia and insulin resistance.

In those mice that already had a buildup of plaques in their arteries, they noticed that the plaques were getting smaller as a result of the nobiletin.

The scientists thought that it had an effect on AMP Kinase, which is the mechanism that regulates our bodie’s ability to burn fat for energy.

Other research suggests that nobiletin slows down the process of dementia, improves glucose and fat metabolism, reduces insulin resistance, and reduces inflammation and oxidation that damage blood vessels in cardiovascular disease.

Consuming more citrus fruit cannot harm you, but this alone is not going to cure cardiovascular disease completely – to do this, you need to cut out this ONE ingredient you probably didn’t even know you were consuming..

And to drop your blood pressure below 120/80 – starting today, do these 3 easy blood pressure exercises..