Strawberries could reduce inflammation in the colon

Eating a handful of strawberries a day could help millions of people cope with inflammatory bowel disease.
A study on mice has discovered eating just a few whole strawberries every day could reduce inflammation in the colon, weight loss and diarrhoea containing blood.
The test was aimed at helping people with inflammatory bowel disease, which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Strawberries restore a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut as well as reducing symptoms in mice with the incurable diseases, the research found.
Experts from the University of Massachusetts say eating strawberries could help people manage the conditions, which they say are worsened by modern inactive lifestyles and diets high in sugar and fat.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term mainly used to describe ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease – long-term conditions which cause inflammation in the gut.
Patients are usually treated with symptom-reducing medication or surgery, but changes to the diet can be important in managing the conditions.
Now researchers believe simply eating strawberries every day could improve patients’ gut health.
They found just 250g of strawberries per day for a person with IBD could be enough to reduce weight loss or diarrhoea, and to reduce inflammation in tissue in the colon.