Brain Function Key Topic at ME Research Summit

It’s been called the “brain berry” and the influence it wields on the health of our brains has been dubbed the “blueberry-brain connection.” While this may sound like something from a distant future, it’s not science fiction. There is, however, plenty of science involved. It has to do with the mounting evidence that blueberries, particularly wild blueberries, can protect our brain as we age.

We know cognitive decline is a normal function of aging – and today, 5.4 million Americans are living with severe cognitive impairment in the form of Alzheimer’s disease. The spotlight on brain research is bright, and the work of nutritionists and scientists engaged in research and clinical trials is no small matter: preserving and protecting the brain is central to our well being. While today’s generation, if they are lucky, will boast longevity, it means little if our cognitive skills are compromised and our living experience is colored by poor memory, poor motor skills, and dementia.

The Bar Harbor Group has been a force behind moving research forward when it comes to the impact of a berry-rich diet on disease prevention. This past August, the 15th Annual Wild Blueberry Health Research Summit in Bar Harbor, Maine brought the group together again. Eighteen leading researchers from the US, Canada and England convened to share and discuss current and ongoing blueberry and human health research, and the result was a boon for brain health. Some of the most exciting topics focused on brain health and the promising blueberry-brain connection.

Good Thinking in Bar Harbor

The work of today’s researchers into cognitive health and diet is notable for the participants involved in its studies. First, this year’s Summit members presented ongoing research into the effect of cognitive health and blueberry supplemented diets both in the elderly and in young, healthy subjects. What’s more, while preliminary studies often involve lab animals, many of this year’s studies were clinical trials involving human subjects and real-world human diets. Studies yielding positive results on humans were part of what made 2012 an exciting year for the “brain berry.”

“Bar Harbor Group” members presented research with
promising results in a wide range of health-related fields at the
15th Annual Wild Blueberry Heath Research Summit this past August.

Much of the interest surrounding blueberries is due to their high anthocyanin content. Anthocyanin, found in the deep blue pigments of wild blueberries, is a phytonutrient with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. When we caught up with Dr. Barbara Shukitt-Hale from the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University last year, she told us that “berry fruits change the way neurons in the brain communicate.” She explained that they prevent inflammation in the brain, the key to preventing neuron damage that specifically affects cognitive function. This August in Bar Harbor, Shukitt-Hale discussed a new clinical trial, using middle-aged and older subjects, which involves the effects of a diet supplemented with blueberries on memory and motor function.

Another presentation by Dr. Robert Krikorian of the University of Cincinnati’s Cognitive Aging Program included work on blueberry supplementation and its effect on memory, metabolic function, inflammation and brain function in elderly subjects. Krikorian has previously conducted a fascinating study into diets supplemented with wild blueberry juice. (Hear more about his work with these health heroes.) In this previous work, he found that a diet supplemented with up to 21 ounces of blueberry juice per day improved memory over just a 12 week period. His most recent work takes us further toward understanding blueberry supplementation.

Also presenting at the Summit was Dr. Mary Ann Lila, Director of Plants for Human Health Institute at North Carolina State University. When Wild About Health spoke with Lila in 2010, blueberries were at the heart of exciting new research at the Institute, where she cited the blueberry as a “cohesive force” in uniting teams involved in areas as unrelated as genomics and fruit quality. This year, she shared ongoing research about wild blueberry consumption on cognition by measuring results specifically on adults experiencing cognitive decline.

Other brain-related research at the Summit included England’s University of Reading study into blueberry supplementation and cognitive function in young healthy subjects, and another on the impact of blueberries in children.

Feed Your Head

In 2012, already more than 100 new studies in a wide range of areas have been published on the blueberry’s potential benefits to human health. We have researchers like the members of the Bar Harbor Group to thank for helping piece together the mysteries of this small, nutrient-dense fruit and its effect on brain performance. The more we know about the advantages of the wild blueberry, the more it should have us thinking – about how to make them a part of our own long, healthy life.

Learn More: In addition to cognitive research, Summit member reports include work on diabetes, heart disease, and eye health.  Read more about research presented at the Bar Harbor Summit.

You can also find out about a brain health study called the “Nurses Study” and why it could be important for you.

In the Heart of Harvest Country, Wild Blueberry Research Intensifies

Last month, Midcoast Maine was a hotbed of exciting, innovative research into some of the most urgent areas of health. Bar Harbor, Maine hosted the 14th annual Wild Blueberry Research Summit this August, an event devoted exclusively to continued research into the role of wild blueberries in critical areas of health.

At the Health Summit, top scientists from the U.S. and Canada, collectively known as the “Bar Harbor Group,” come together each year to present compelling new data to substantiate the connection between a blueberry-rich diet and prevention of diseases like Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and diabetes. This year’s Summit once again delivered on the promise of this heralded little fruit.

Widely known as a “brain food” because of its positive effect on brain health as well as for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant abilities, the wild blueberry continues to be under the microscope as it expands its nutritional promise into areas such as metabolic syndrome, heart and blood vessel health, and diabetes. Researchers who participate in the Summit share current findings from clinical trials and pilot studies, and explore opportunities for future collaborations as they relate to the the berry’s disease-fighting potential.

More than ever, at the heart of this year’s Summit was the impact of diet on our health, our medical care, and our communities. With a nation that is collapsing under the burden of obesity and nutrition-related health issues, it is an important time for nutritional research. The idea that some of the answers to a considerable community health crisis could be found in a little blue globe of fruit is as remarkable as it is exciting. At the center of these discoveries are leading U.S. and Canadian researchers who are active in the fields of neuroscience, aging, cardiovascular disease, cancer, eye health and other health-related areas. Meeting together in Maine, in the middle of wild blueberry country after the harvest season, is particularly fitting.

Part of the compelling new research presented at the Summit included work from Dr. Robert Krikorian of the University of Cincinnati into the connection between wild blueberries and cognitive ability. Krikorian reported on two clinical studies which investigated the effect of a diet supplemented with wild blueberry juice on memory and brain function. Adults in the study had Mild Cognitive Impairment, a risk condition for Alzheimer’s disease.

Krikorian and his team treated subjects with 15 to 21 ounces of wild blueberry juice per day. Mood and memory were tested, and findings indicated that the subjects had improved recall and improved learning after 12 weeks. While these early findings require more study, initial results suggests a relationship between the regular consumption of blueberry juice and improved brain function.
Other research presented at the Summit included work from Barbara Shukitt-Hale from the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging concerning memory and motor function, Dr. Ana Rodriguez-Mateos of the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at the U.K.’s University of Reading into wild blueberry consumption and blood vessel function, and Dr. Catherine M. Champagne, Professor of Nutritional Epidemiology/Dietary Assessment at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge into the positive effect of blueberry diet on insulin sensitivity. You can read about some of the Summit’s highlights by reading Annual Health Summit Reveals Promising Benefits of Wild Blueberries.

Each time the Bar Harbor Group comes together, the excitement in the nutritional and scientific fields intensifies. While some of the studies presented at the Summit are in their beginning stages, sharing pilot studies and ongoing clinical trials with such significant potential is the key to moving nutritional research forward and understanding the connections between wild blueberries and disease – especially when they concern diseases that have such a widespread and devastating effect on our population.

Studies into wild blueberries and diseases of aging have already yielded important results. In fact, it’s been since 1998 that these researchers have gathered in Maine to share their data, and past Summits have revealed studies that found positive connections between wild blueberries and satiety, insulin sensitivity, and depression. (Find out more about what we already know about the health benefits of wild blueberries.)

Scientists who study health and nutrition are passionate about understanding wild blueberries’ potential in preventing age-related diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s. To what extent they can prevent or forestall these diseases is the mission of researchers like those in attendance at the Summit this year.


It’s an exciting time for the wild blueberry! Find information on research from this year’s Summit at WildBlueberries.com, or read more about the scientists that make up the Bar Harbor Group and their work in the field of disease prevention and healthy aging.