Previous studies have established that strawberry flavonoids are potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents that have been shown to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors. Arpita Basu, from Oklahoma State University (USA), and colleagues studied 16 women, each of whom exhibited markers of metabolic syndrome, including central obesity, hypertension, and impaired glucose and insulin metabolism.   Each study participant drank two cups of a beverage made from a freeze-dried strawberry powder, daily for 4 weeks.  At the conclusion of the study period, total cholesterol dropped by 5% and LDL cholesterol levels were reduced by 6%.  In addition, levels of malondialdehyde, a marker of oxidative stress, dropped by 14%.   The team observes that: “short-term supplementation of freeze-dried strawberries appeared to exert hypocholesterolemic effects and decrease lipid peroxidation in women with metabolic syndrome.”