The Health Benefits of Local BC Berries

There has been a great deal of interest in recent years about the potential health benefits of eating berries. We spoke with Michael Dossett who is a post-doctoral fellow working with the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada PARC-Agassiz berry breeding program. Here is what he had to say:

I say “potential” because most of it is based on studies done in petri-dishes or using mice or rats as a model. The very first human clinical trials to study the possible health benefits of consumption of berries and their extracts have only started in the last couple of years. While there is still a tremendous amount that we don’t know yet, there is also overwhelming scientific evidence that eating berries has a variety of health benefits.

Consumption of berries has been linked to reduction in many chronic inflammatory diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. In addition, some studies have shown increased consumption of berries to help mitigate or reduce the effects of stress. Some studies have even found potential cancer-fighting properties in our local berries. The potential benefits of eating a diet rich in berries and other fresh foods are too numerous to list here, and the scientific and medical communities are only beginning to scratch the surface in terms of finding out what all of these benefits are.

I often am asked whether we can breed a blueberry or a raspberry with higher antioxidants or increased health-beneficial properties. The simple answer is yes, but the problem is knowing what compounds to focus on, and how much of an increase is needed to really have an effect. Is more actually better, or does it not have any additional benefit beyond a certain concentration that the body can absorb? As I mentioned earlier, we’re only at the beginning of understanding what the effects in humans are. The latest studies indicate that the potential health benefits we see are linked to a variety of compounds that have a variety of effects on the human body. While many of these compounds are also powerful antioxidants, researchers haven’t been able to establish a strong link between the antioxidant capacity of these foods and the observed benefits, so current studies are focusing on other mechanisms.

Another question I am often asked is, “what is the best type of berry or fruit to eat?” With the Superfood craze in the last few years, many people don’t know whether they should be eating raspberries, or strawberries, or cranberries, or blueberries, or pomegranates, or acai, or any of a number of other foods. Often times the latest thing comes out and people try it because it has an exotic name or was the subject of recent study covered by the news media. People often get mixed messages from the media or hear that one thing is good for you without knowing what is best. Fortunately, this question is one that is relatively easy to answer. I tell people to eat their colors. All of these foods are nutritious and they all have different health-promoting compounds, with slightly different effects on the body. The best way to ensure that you get the benefit is to eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. The latest recommendations for a healthy diet are that people should be eating 5-10 servings a day of fruits and vegetables.

You are what you eat, and this is food the way nature intended it. Most of these health-promoting compounds are also preserved in frozen fruits as well, and this is a great way to get the benefit of eating our local berries year-round. Heavily processed foods may or may not give you the benefits because every additional step can cause a small loss because of dilution or degradation of these compounds. Next time you are at your local grocery store or market and wondering what you should buy, just remember to eat your colors!

Want to learn more? Here is another great article "Taste the Rainbow"