8 ms·

Effects of acute wild blueberry supplementation on the cognition of children

91 points by _Microft 7y ago

_Microft 7y ago
The real title was "The effects of acute wild blueberry supplementation on the cognition of 7–10-year-old schoolchildren" which is unfortunately way too long for a HN submission.
kseistrup 7y ago
See also the human effect matrix on https://examine.com/supplements/blueberry/ https://examine.com/supplements/blueberry/
pteraspidomorph 7y ago
From what I can tell the designations "blueberry" and "wild blueberry" can refer to multiple species; I wonder which species was used?
- kseistrup 7y ago
  If they were testing flavonoids/anthocyanins, it is probably a species that has with blue/purple flesh – e.g. the european blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus).
  - tralarpa 7y ago
    The authors wrote that they gave 240 g fresh blueberries containing 253 mg anthocyanins. That would be 105mg anthocyanins per 100g (provided that the authors didn't actually mean 253mg/100g). According to this table, that's too low for the European Blueberry: https://www.intechopen.com/books/superfood-and-functional-food-the-development-of-superfoods-and-their-roles-as-medicine/anthocyanins-in-berries-and-their-potential-use-in-human-health https://www.intechopen.com/books/superfood-and-functional-fo... (What I am doing with my life? I don't even know what an anthocyanin is)
    - VLM 7y ago
      anthocyanins are a broad family of natural food colorings, they're what gives the berries their color. As for bio effects you can draw a nice graph of anthocyanin yield vs certain mold infections and some molds clearly can't grow in anthocyanins. The "industry" doesn't have a unified voice so on one hand the "lets market a concentrated extract as a super-bioreactive kinda-like an antibiotic but for mold prevention" is not coordinating with "lets enter the lucrative supplement marketplace which much like patent medicines a century ago promises everything to everyone". And a third group wants to sell the concentrated extract as a totally safe natural organic food coloring. Needless to say the regulators are freaked out that the same substance is being marketed as both a completely non bio active colorant, a patent medicine supplement of vague goodness, AND as a food color. So there is much legal freakout and in EU you can use blueberry juice as a food colorant or flavoring but not concentrated anthocyanins refined from blueberries as a food coloring, and/or its allowed in the USA I just can't remember.
vertigolimbo 7y ago
I wish these articles would make a clear distinction between blueberries and bilberries (wild blueberries) which are so common in eastern European forests but almost unavailable on the shelves. They have very dark purple colour and are full of flavour. Interestingly, you can find them in most blueberry muffins.
- kseistrup 7y ago
  They really _should_ make a clear distinction and give the scientific name of the species they were using in their research. Here in Denmark, blueberry (“blåbær”) means Vaccinium myrtillus and is readily available pickled or frozen, whereas the "blueberries" with light flesh (e.g., Vaccinium uliginosum – "mosebølle") are not considered blueberries in the botanical sense.
  - sampo 7y ago
    The American blueberry (northern highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum) is, well, American. And also in British English the word blueberry refers to the American blueberry. But the British must have had access to the European blueberry (bilberry, Vaccinium myrtillus) long before anyone transported American blueberries to Britain/Europe? So, to which berry did the word blueberry refer to in England 100 or 200 years ago? And when did the meaning change? I am puzzled by this.
    - benj111 7y ago
      The British do have access to Bilberries, I believe I can see a patch from my house. I believe the term European Blueberry may have been retroactively applied, although the Scots call bilberries blaeberries, so it could be a corruption of that.
      - wolfhumble 7y ago
        > Scots call bilberries blaeberries, so it could be a corruption of that. Interesting. 'Blae' in Blaeberries seems very close to 'Blå' in Blåbær (Norwegian, Danish), Blåbär (Swedish) which means blueberry; typically found wild in the forest.
kuu 7y ago
Results: For the MANT, significantly quicker RTs were observed for WBB participants when compared to placebo participants on 120 ms trials, without cost to accuracy. Furthermore, WBB participants showed enhanced verbal memory performance on the AVLT, recalling more words than placebo participants on short delay and memory acquisition measures post-consumption. Despite these significant improvements in cognitive performance, no significant effects were observed for reading measures. (Emphasis is mine)
Jolter 7y ago
Why is the study only single-blinded? If the person administering the tests knows that they are testing the placebo group, it could influence the results. I don't see why they could not make this double blind if they wanted to. It makes me very suspicious.
- driverdan 7y ago
  Because it's a terrible study. Small sample size, single blinding, p hacking, industry funding.
  - Sharlin 7y ago
    I doubt there even exists a wild blueberry ”industry”.
    - kingbirdy 7y ago
      From the acknowledgements: > We appreciate the support of the Wild Blueberry Association of North America for their provision of the wild blueberry powder used in this study. Further, we thank the South East Doctoral Training Centre and the Wild Blueberry Association for their financial support.
      - Sharlin 7y ago
        Yeah, a couple of nonprofits and an academic institution (the latter of which doesn't appear to have any vested interests related to blueberries). Sure, bias is always possible, but to talk of an "industry" appears to be stretching it.
        therealcamino 7y ago
        I think you're making too much of the word "industry" and whether organizations are for-profit or not, without addresssing whether those organizations suggest a conflict of interest, which is what "industry" is shorthand for. The Wild Blueberry Association of North America is a trade association, which exists to increase consumption of wild blueberries.
jonplackett 7y ago
Are there any supplements that already exist containing whatever flavonoid that is in wild blueberries?
- SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
  Just eat the wild blueberries? There's plenty of other good stuff in them too.
  - jonplackett 7y ago
    Where can I get me some wild blueberries though?
colechristensen 7y ago
n=27, testing several things at once, funded by Big Blueberry Well below the threshold of common interest. Small effect size on what is effectively a significance fishing expedition. >Acknowledgements >We appreciate the support of the Wild Blueberry Association of North America for their provision of the wild blueberry powder used in this study. Further, we thank the South East Doctoral Training Centre and the Wild Blueberry Association for their financial support. This work is part of an ESRC Case funded studentship. We also thank the participants and school staff who accommodated this research.
- blackhaz 7y ago
  Thanks for pointing this out.
- Havoc 7y ago
  That's a pity. Might just eat more because they taste good anyway
  - colechristensen 7y ago
    They are quite nutritious anyway regardless of a single minimally interesting study.
- mcv 7y ago
  Is Big Blueberry actually big? I'd expect it to be Medium-sized Blueberry at best, though I admit that lacks alliteration.
  - delinka 7y ago
    Have you seen the blueberries Chick-fil-A is putting in their fruit cups? Yuge!
    - Sharlin 7y ago
      But this study is about wild blueberries (aka bilberries) which are much smaller than their cultivated cousins :)
Merrill 7y ago
"Do polyphenols enter the brain and does it matter? Some theoretical and practical considerations" - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3316747/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3316747/ >In this paper, we summarize published data on the penetration of PPs into animal brain and review some hypotheses to explain the biological basis of potentially health-beneficial effects of PPs to the brain. Finally, we highlight promising new approaches, especially those of a hormetic dose-response and gut microbiota-brain interaction, which may allow a better understanding of PPs’ mode of action in animals and humans. Only in very low concentrations, but there might be enough for an effect. Possible mechanisms are not well understood.
lonelappde 7y ago
This is well documented to be an ad dressed up as research. Please flag.
Scoundreller 7y ago
If this increases the supply of the tasty wild blueberries instead of those giant pieces of blue water in an organic sac, i’m All for it.
leoh 7y ago
Perhaps it's merely the sugar that helped. Or the kids felt more open and relaxed after being given a tasty snack.

91 points by _Microft 7y ago

The real title was "The effects of acute wild blueberry supplementation on the cognition of 7–10-year-old schoolchildren" which is unfortunately way too long for a HN submission.

kseistrup 7y ago

See also the human effect matrix on https://examine.com/supplements/blueberry/ https://examine.com/supplements/blueberry/

pteraspidomorph 7y ago

From what I can tell the designations "blueberry" and "wild blueberry" can refer to multiple species; I wonder which species was used?

kseistrup 7y ago
If they were testing flavonoids/anthocyanins, it is probably a species that has with blue/purple flesh – e.g. the european blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus).
- tralarpa 7y ago
  The authors wrote that they gave 240 g fresh blueberries containing 253 mg anthocyanins. That would be 105mg anthocyanins per 100g (provided that the authors didn't actually mean 253mg/100g). According to this table, that's too low for the European Blueberry: https://www.intechopen.com/books/superfood-and-functional-food-the-development-of-superfoods-and-their-roles-as-medicine/anthocyanins-in-berries-and-their-potential-use-in-human-health https://www.intechopen.com/books/superfood-and-functional-fo... (What I am doing with my life? I don't even know what an anthocyanin is)
  - VLM 7y ago
    anthocyanins are a broad family of natural food colorings, they're what gives the berries their color. As for bio effects you can draw a nice graph of anthocyanin yield vs certain mold infections and some molds clearly can't grow in anthocyanins. The "industry" doesn't have a unified voice so on one hand the "lets market a concentrated extract as a super-bioreactive kinda-like an antibiotic but for mold prevention" is not coordinating with "lets enter the lucrative supplement marketplace which much like patent medicines a century ago promises everything to everyone". And a third group wants to sell the concentrated extract as a totally safe natural organic food coloring. Needless to say the regulators are freaked out that the same substance is being marketed as both a completely non bio active colorant, a patent medicine supplement of vague goodness, AND as a food color. So there is much legal freakout and in EU you can use blueberry juice as a food colorant or flavoring but not concentrated anthocyanins refined from blueberries as a food coloring, and/or its allowed in the USA I just can't remember.

vertigolimbo 7y ago

I wish these articles would make a clear distinction between blueberries and bilberries (wild blueberries) which are so common in eastern European forests but almost unavailable on the shelves. They have very dark purple colour and are full of flavour. Interestingly, you can find them in most blueberry muffins.

kseistrup 7y ago
They really _should_ make a clear distinction and give the scientific name of the species they were using in their research. Here in Denmark, blueberry (“blåbær”) means Vaccinium myrtillus and is readily available pickled or frozen, whereas the "blueberries" with light flesh (e.g., Vaccinium uliginosum – "mosebølle") are not considered blueberries in the botanical sense.
- sampo 7y ago
  The American blueberry (northern highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum) is, well, American. And also in British English the word blueberry refers to the American blueberry. But the British must have had access to the European blueberry (bilberry, Vaccinium myrtillus) long before anyone transported American blueberries to Britain/Europe? So, to which berry did the word blueberry refer to in England 100 or 200 years ago? And when did the meaning change? I am puzzled by this.
  - benj111 7y ago
    The British do have access to Bilberries, I believe I can see a patch from my house. I believe the term European Blueberry may have been retroactively applied, although the Scots call bilberries blaeberries, so it could be a corruption of that.
    - wolfhumble 7y ago
      > Scots call bilberries blaeberries, so it could be a corruption of that. Interesting. 'Blae' in Blaeberries seems very close to 'Blå' in Blåbær (Norwegian, Danish), Blåbär (Swedish) which means blueberry; typically found wild in the forest.

kuu 7y ago

Results: For the MANT, significantly quicker RTs were observed for WBB participants when compared to placebo participants on 120 ms trials, without cost to accuracy. Furthermore, WBB participants showed enhanced verbal memory performance on the AVLT, recalling more words than placebo participants on short delay and memory acquisition measures post-consumption. Despite these significant improvements in cognitive performance, no significant effects were observed for reading measures. (Emphasis is mine)

Jolter 7y ago

Why is the study only single-blinded? If the person administering the tests knows that they are testing the placebo group, it could influence the results. I don't see why they could not make this double blind if they wanted to. It makes me very suspicious.

driverdan 7y ago
Because it's a terrible study. Small sample size, single blinding, p hacking, industry funding.
- Sharlin 7y ago
  I doubt there even exists a wild blueberry ”industry”.
  - kingbirdy 7y ago
    From the acknowledgements: > We appreciate the support of the Wild Blueberry Association of North America for their provision of the wild blueberry powder used in this study. Further, we thank the South East Doctoral Training Centre and the Wild Blueberry Association for their financial support.
    - Sharlin 7y ago
      Yeah, a couple of nonprofits and an academic institution (the latter of which doesn't appear to have any vested interests related to blueberries). Sure, bias is always possible, but to talk of an "industry" appears to be stretching it.
      - therealcamino 7y ago
        I think you're making too much of the word "industry" and whether organizations are for-profit or not, without addresssing whether those organizations suggest a conflict of interest, which is what "industry" is shorthand for. The Wild Blueberry Association of North America is a trade association, which exists to increase consumption of wild blueberries.

jonplackett 7y ago

Are there any supplements that already exist containing whatever flavonoid that is in wild blueberries?

SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
Just eat the wild blueberries? There's plenty of other good stuff in them too.
- jonplackett 7y ago
  Where can I get me some wild blueberries though?

colechristensen 7y ago

n=27, testing several things at once, funded by Big Blueberry Well below the threshold of common interest. Small effect size on what is effectively a significance fishing expedition. >Acknowledgements >We appreciate the support of the Wild Blueberry Association of North America for their provision of the wild blueberry powder used in this study. Further, we thank the South East Doctoral Training Centre and the Wild Blueberry Association for their financial support. This work is part of an ESRC Case funded studentship. We also thank the participants and school staff who accommodated this research.

blackhaz 7y ago
Thanks for pointing this out.
Havoc 7y ago
That's a pity. Might just eat more because they taste good anyway
- colechristensen 7y ago
  They are quite nutritious anyway regardless of a single minimally interesting study.
mcv 7y ago
Is Big Blueberry actually big? I'd expect it to be Medium-sized Blueberry at best, though I admit that lacks alliteration.
- delinka 7y ago
  Have you seen the blueberries Chick-fil-A is putting in their fruit cups? Yuge!
  - Sharlin 7y ago
    But this study is about wild blueberries (aka bilberries) which are much smaller than their cultivated cousins :)

Merrill 7y ago

"Do polyphenols enter the brain and does it matter? Some theoretical and practical considerations" - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3316747/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3316747/ >In this paper, we summarize published data on the penetration of PPs into animal brain and review some hypotheses to explain the biological basis of potentially health-beneficial effects of PPs to the brain. Finally, we highlight promising new approaches, especially those of a hormetic dose-response and gut microbiota-brain interaction, which may allow a better understanding of PPs’ mode of action in animals and humans. Only in very low concentrations, but there might be enough for an effect. Possible mechanisms are not well understood.

lonelappde 7y ago

This is well documented to be an ad dressed up as research. Please flag.

Scoundreller 7y ago

If this increases the supply of the tasty wild blueberries instead of those giant pieces of blue water in an organic sac, i’m All for it.

leoh 7y ago

Perhaps it's merely the sugar that helped. Or the kids felt more open and relaxed after being given a tasty snack.