Blueberry trials found better vessel dilation, with no clear cognitive benefit
In healthy participants, a pooled analysis found improvement in a vascular measure, while blood pressure, executive function and mood showed no statistically significant changes.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Blueberry consumption improved flow-mediated dilation, the vascular-function measure used in the review. It did not produce statistically significant changes in blood pressure, executive function or mood. That combination supports a narrow conclusion about the measured vascular response; it does not establish fewer cardiovascular events or a dependable cognitive benefit for healthy people.
This abstract-based account lacks comparator details and study durations. Blueberry amounts, forms, intervention lengths and participant ages varied, limiting how confidently the pooled results can be applied to a particular setting.
A vascular measurement
The researchers combined randomized trials examining vascular and cognitive outcomes. Their positive result concerned flow-mediated dilation, a measure of blood-vessel widening. This is a physiological measurement, so it should be kept separate from outcomes such as cardiovascular illness.
Uncertainty in the other outcomes
The estimates for blood pressure, executive function and mood were uncertain enough to include no effect. These nonsignificant results leave room for effects the evidence could not resolve; they do not demonstrate that blueberries and comparison conditions are equivalent.
The original publication
Blueberry consumption enhances vascular function but not cognitive abilities in healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
He Y, Yang J, Zhang S et al.
Nutr Res · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41974068
- Record checked
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