Eating pomegranates and walnuts can reverse some of the life-threatening damage caused by catastrophic heart failure, a new study shows.
Research shows that consuming these foods causes the body to produce a natural substance called urolithin A, which has been linked to anti-aging.
Now British scientists have discovered that animals given urolithin A improved their heart function by as much as 80 percent. The researchers from King’s College Londonclaim that urolithin A helps relax the heart muscle and also prevents scarring.
Experts say the compound could eventually be turned into a treatment for an increasingly common form of heart failure.
They add that the findings may also indicate that patients with heart failure could benefit from a diet rich in urolithin A.
Heart failure affects around 920,000 Britons. About 50 percent of patients suffer from a form called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction – where the organ becomes stiff, meaning it cannot fill with blood.
There are few effective treatments and more than half of patients die within five years of diagnosis.
However, the new study claims that urolithin A could be the answer. It is produced when gut bacteria break down foods containing polyphenols – a plant compound found in pomegranates, walnuts and berries.
Berries and nuts can reverse life-threatening damage caused by heart failure, a new study shows (stock image)
Researchers from King’s College London injected animals suffering from heart failure with urolithin A and found that their heart function improved dramatically.
The compound was then tested in a laboratory on human heart tissue, which the scientists also said had a positive effect.
Experts say the next step will be to develop a drug containing urolithin A, but added that patients should consider increasing their polyphenol intake.
Dr. Joseph Burgoyne, senior author of the study, said: ‘Although there is not enough evidence that people should eat pomegranates to treat heart failure, these findings raise the possibility that diets that increase urolithin A production may help alleviate this condition.’
