Clinical trial · Nutrition · 29 Sept 2026
In a pilot of older sedentary adults, daily blueberry powder shifted gut-enzyme markers; the mood difference was not significant
Source: Hebrew SeniorLife / The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging
What the research found
Study (pilot). Courtney L. Millar of Hebrew SeniorLife, Beth Israel Deaconess, and Harvard Medical School and colleagues report in The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging (MedicalXpress 29 September 2026). Older sedentary adults with mild depressive symptoms took 48 grams (about 1.7 ounces) of blueberry powder a day, roughly two cups of fresh berries, or a matched placebo powder for three months. Depressive-symptom scores fell more consistently with blueberries, but the difference versus placebo was not statistically significant. Metagenomic sequencing showed small shifts in gut microbial enzyme markers. The release does not give the headcount. Educational notes. This is not a mood treatment and not a reason to treat depression with berry powder.
Evidence level: Clinical trial. This is among the stronger kinds of evidence, but one study rarely settles a question.
Read the original at Hebrew SeniorLife / The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging
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