01/14/2026
Yay for the blueberry muffins I made last night and have for breakfast today!
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, researchers found that cognitive performance improved “across all measures" for kids consuming blueberries, and the more berries they had, the better. The researchers tested the equivalent of one cup and two cups of fresh blueberries, as well as a placebo, and cognitive improvements were found within hours of just one meal with the berries. Sounds like great brain food, especially for breakfast before heading off to school.
Do the cognitive benefits of blueberries also translate to adults? When adding the equivalent of one daily cup of blueberries to the diets of older adults, researchers found improvements in their long-term memory and some other aspects of cognition. In terms of the number of errors on the test, the placebo group did worse while the blueberry group did better.
Berries are packed with polyphenols, which have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. There’s a subset of polyphenols called anthocyanidins, which are the blue-purple pigments naturally found in plants. They can cross the blood-brain barrier, as well as localize inside brain regions involved in learning and memory.
Watch the video “Benefits of Blueberries for the Brain” at https://see.nf/4c9BBQs and “How to Slow Brain Aging by Two Years” at https://see.nf/3StIvt5 to learn more.
PMIDs: 26437830, 28283823, 22658645, 22535616, 30327868, 26437830, 29026903, 34023938
