Eating blueberries every day may have a surprising effect on your mood

Eating blueberries every day could have surprising effects on mood, according to a small study that found greater reductions in depressive symptoms among older adults who consumed the fruit for three months. Researchers also detected changes in gut microbial enzymes, suggesting a possible gut-brain connection, although the mood benefits were not statistically significant compared with a placebo. Eating blueberries every day may have a surprising effect on your mood.

Eating blueberries every day may have a surprising effect on your mood Science News from research organizations Eating blueberries every day may have a surprising effect on your mood A new study hints that eating blueberries daily could help improve mood in older adults, potentially through surprising effects on the gut microbiome. Participants who consumed blueberries regularly experienced a greater and more consistent reduction in depressive symptoms, along with subtle changes in genes associated with gut microbial enzymes. The improvements in depressive symptoms were not statistically significant when compared with the placebo group.

Although the findings do not establish that blueberries can relieve depression, they offer preliminary clues about a possible connection between blueberry consumption, the gut microbiome, and mental health. "Fiber and anthocyanins in blueberries have potential to modify the gut microbiome and metabolites that are relevant to depression in older adults," said lead author Courtney L. Millar, PhD, assistant scientist II at Hebrew SeniorLife’s Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and assistant professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.

"Our objective was to preliminarily determine the effect of blueberry consumption on the gut microbiome, metabolites, and depressive symptoms." Testing the Effects of Daily Blueberry Consumption To investigate the potential connection, researchers recruited adults aged 65 and older who were physically inactive and experiencing mild depressive symptoms.