Dietary Strawberries Improve Cardiometabolic Risks in Adults With Obesity and Elevated Serum LDL-Cholesterol in a Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial

OBJECTIVES: Dietary berries, such as strawberries are rich in bioactive compounds and have been shown to lower cardiometabolic risks. We examined the dose-response effects of two dietary achievable doses of strawberries on glycemic control and lipid profiles in adults. METHODS: In this 14-week randomized controlled crossover study, adults with obesity and elevated serum LDL-cholesterol were assigned to one of the three arms for four weeks separated by a one-week washout period: control powder, one serving strawberries (low dose: 13 g powder/day), and 2.5 servings strawberries (high dose: 32 g powder/day). Participants were instructed to follow their usual diet and lifestyle while refraining from consuming other berries and related products throughout the study. Blood samples and anthropometric measures were collected at baseline and at the end of each four-week phase of intervention. RESULTS: Thirty-three participants completed all three phases of the trial [(mean ± SD): Age: 53 ± 13 y; BMI: 33 ± 3.0 kg/m(2)). Outcome measures were analyzed using a mixed model analysis of variance with statistical significance set at P