Blueberries and the brain

Over the 12-week study, half of the participants drink a beverage each day containing freeze-dried wild blueberry powder, while the other half consume a placebo

“We’re looking not just at nutrition, but how it impacts other factors — memory, cardiovascular health and other things that are very important — especially during the aging process for maintaining quality of life,” Rippon said of the research, the subjects of which are adults ages 60 to 80 who are generally healthy. “As you get older, you still want to have a sharp memory, and you want to be able to go out and do things and be independent for as long as possible. That’s really important.”

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial is testing if wild blueberry consumption improves executive function (the ability to do things like concentrate and multitask), strengthens short-term memory and causes faster reaction times. It begins with a series of cardiovascular and cognitive function tests to give the researchers a baseline. Over the 12-week study, half of the participants drink a beverage each day containing freeze-dried wild blueberry powder equivalent to about one cup of blueberries, while the other half consume a placebo. After 12 weeks, participants repeat the baseline test.

Rippon said about 15 participants have completed the study and they are looking to recruit 60 participants. She plans to continue with the research throughout the academic year.

Although Rippon plans to pursue a career in clinical nutrition, she said her experience doing research was an invaluable learning experience.

“I’ve really been able to grow as a person to learn what the research side of things looks like,” she said. “I’ve been able to connect with my peers and interact with different labs, and I think that even though I’m heading toward a career in nutrition counseling, research has really shown me how important it is just to stay up to date on what the research is saying. It’s been a really beneficial experience.”