A humble – and delicious – berry could be the answer to improving your gut, brain and heart health, a major review found last week.
Experts have long urged us to eat more blueberries, but thankfully you don’t need to be consuming kilos of the superfruit for it to have an impact.
Every year Britons consume 57,000 tonnes of the tiny fruits; enough to fill 23 Olympic size swimming pools.
But while farmers across the UK now produce around a tenth of all the berries we eat – straight from the punnet, sprinkled over yogurt, baked into muffins or bejewelling a colourful fruit salad – the blueberry is not indigenous to the UK.
In fact, they were first brought to the UK in 1952 and only introduced to supermarket shelves in the 90s, making their rise to the top of the nation’s favourite fruits list all the more impressive.
Today, Marks & Spencer makes more money from blueberries than from apples and pears combined, and at supermarket rival Aldi, blueberry punnets outsell bags of oranges by more than three units to one.
In the UK sales have grown by 40 per cent over the past three years. To put that into perspective, if the trend continues at this rate, we will spend more than £1billion annually on blueberries by the end of the decade.
According to Worldpanel, a market research company that monitors the shopping baskets of 30,000 families in the UK, the fruit is disproportionately popular with the over-55s.
In the UK sales have grown by 40 per cent over the past three years
According to Worldpanel, a market research company that monitors the shopping baskets of 30,000 families in the UK, the fruit is disproportionately popular with the over-55s
Research shows that the blueberry has a host of health benefits, including improved blood vessel function, beneficial changes to the gut microbiome as well as improving memory.
A review of 12 studies by the Wild Blueberry Association of North America published last week found that wild blueberries have ‘whole body’ health benefits
One of the findings in the review was that wild blueberries can help support endothelial function – how well blood vessels relax – within hours after a single serving, and in other cases, with regular intake over weeks or months.
Blueberries are one of the most nutrient-dense berries because they are full of fibre, vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese.
But experts say that there is a specific compound which is behind their amazing health benefits.
They’re full of a polyphenol flavonoid called anthocyanins – a purple pigment that gives the berries their deep colour.
‘It is true that blueberries are also high in fibre and antioxidants which are beneficial to your health,’ says Professor Ana Rodriguez-Mateos, an expert in human nutrition at King’s College London (KCL) who has studied blueberries for over two decades.
‘But what sets blueberries apart is the high concentration of anthocyanins.’
Research shows that the optimal amount of daily blueberries is 200 grams
A 2019 KCL study managed to pinpoint this association.
Comparing a tablet of pure anthocyanins versus a mixture of the other vitamins and minerals in blueberries they managed to show why blueberries have significant health benefits.
They found that the most significant health benefits were from participants who took the anthocyanins tablet.
Professor Rodriguez-Mateos explains that this is beneficial because it increases the availability of nitric oxide in the body, a crucial chemical for cardiovascular health.
A study led by the Professor in 2023 found that consuming the equivalent of 178 grams of berries daily had a great effect on the cardiovascular system.
As part of the study, researchers from KCL and the University of Reading carried out a randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 61 healthy men and women aged 65 to 80.
They drank a beverage made with 26g of freeze-dried wild blueberry powder. The other group drank a matching placebo.
Over 12 weeks it was found those who consumed the berry powder experienced better memory and improved accuracy on attention tasks, alongside lower blood pressure.
The blood pressure of the test group was lower than that of the placebo group and was also shown to have increased flow mediated dilation, which leads to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
The researchers also found that over the course of twelve weeks, volunteers who consumed the berry powder in drinks experienced better memory and an 8.5 per cent improved performance on an attention task.
Experts say that whether you eat fresh, frozen or freeze-dried the benefits are the same
Professor Rodriguez-Mateos says: ‘We knew from previous research that there are potential advantages from consuming blueberries, but this study went further by exploring how a daily and dietary achievable measure of blueberries could benefit our cognitive and cardiovascular health simultaneously in a healthy older population.’
As well as the health benefits on the cardiovascular system and the brain, growing research suggests that the berry is also beneficial to the gut microbiome.
‘Research shows that the berry has an almost probiotic effect on the gut, and improves the diversity in our gut microbiome,’ says Professor Rodriguez-Mateos.
Experts say that to see the health benefits of blueberries someone would need to consume roughly half a pack a day – 200 grams.
‘Our research has shown that 200 grams a day is the minimum amount for there to be a substantial health benefit, but some studies have shown that this could be less and just two or three days a week – really any amount will be somewhat beneficial,’ says Professor Rodriguez-Mateos.
‘What we found also is that more is not necessarily better, eating half a kilo of blueberries is not going to have a magical effect.
‘Actually the benefits plateau after about 240 grams.’
She explains that it also doesn’t matter how you consume your blueberries.
‘Nutritionally there is very little difference between consuming fresh, frozen or freeze dried blueberries,’ says the Professor.
With blueberries now marketed as a superfood there has also been a rise in blueberry extract supplements.
Research suggests that the market is growing at 10 per cent a year and is estimated to be worth £125million globally.
‘Supplementation can be useful, especially because blueberries can be expensive,’ says Professor Rodriguez-Mateos.
‘However it is always best to get your nutrients from whole foods where possible.
‘Other sources of anthocyanins rich foods include plums, apples, aubergines and red cabbage – a purple diet may be the way forward.’
Because of their high vitamin K levels, it’s advised that people taking blood thinners should monitor intake. The same is said for those with bowel diseases, due to the berries’ substantial fibre content.
