Are Blueberries Really the Best Brain Food?

From sharper memory to better focus and lower dementia risk, science shows that eating blueberries regularly may help keep your brain healthy as you age

Kristen Fischer,

AARP

Comments

En español

Published July 31, 2025

blueberry background and blueberries in someone's head

AARP Staff

Whether you stir them into yogurt, sprinkle them on cereal or just pop them in your mouth one by one, blueberries are a tasty fruit with some huge health benefits. The buzz is that they can work wonders for brain health, but are they worth all the hype?

Researchers have been touting blueberry's brain benefits with good reason. Research has found that blueberries can help with memory, mood, focus and more in people of all ages. Scientists believe that compounds in blueberries lower inflammation in the body and the brain, improve blood vessel function, enhance blood flow to the brain, support signals between brain cells and improve how the brain functions to bolster memory, executive function, visual-spatial function, psychomotor skills and attention.

Decades of research have found that bioactive compounds called flavonoids in the fruit can help sharpen brain function and attention. This is especially true for older adults, says Mary Ann Lila, a professor at North Carolina State University’s Plants for Human Health Institute.

Blueberries are the only fruit to be singled out as part of the MIND diet, a diet that research has linked to lower dementia risk.

“It is the flavonoids, particularly the anthocyanin pigments, which are most potent for brain health,” Lila says. Anthocyanin is the flavonoid that makes the berry blue.

A 2024 Frontiers in Pharmacology report out this year finds that metabolites in blueberries have the potential to protect the brain. In addition to anthocyanin, the authors of the report called out flavonoids, carotenoids and vitamins C and E as potentially protective. Some evidence says they can change processes in the body that are implicated in age-related cognitive decline, amnesia and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

The power of blueberries

Research has found eating blueberries enhances brain processing speed, which is vital for tasks like driving a car and responding to hazards on the road, according to a 2022 study in Nutritional Neuroscience. When 33 older adults between the ages of 50 and 65 with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) — a self-perceived decline in cognitive function — ate a half cup of blueberries for 12 weeks, and no other berries, they had better executive function, a 2022 randomized control trial published in Nutrients showed. (This type of study is considered the gold standard of medical research because it reduces bias and yields conclusive evidence.)

Another 2022 report in Geroscience found significant improvements in processing, especially in individuals between 75 and 80 years old with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), cognitive decline that often leads to dementia. In that trial, individuals consumed wild blueberry powder or a placebo powder for six months. Researchers compared their improvements to a reference group of those without cognitive issues. Study subjects who ate the blueberries saw processing improve so much that they met the level cognitively of those without any cognitive problems, Lila explains.

Another recent randomized clinical trial published in Geroscience looked at 99 people between 60 and 80 years old who had mild memory problems or heart and blood vessel issues that increase the risk of dementia. Those who took anthocyanin supplements (those natural compounds found in berries and other colorful fruits) for nearly six months showed better results on heart health tests, lower inflammation and lower levels of “bad” cholesterol (LDL) compared with those who didn’t take the supplements. Chronic inflammation is strongly linked to the development of age-related diseases like cancer, heart disease and brain disorders.

Research continues to reveal that blueberries offer a way to help people to take control of their brain health, Lila says.

Other perks: They’re also linked to lower risk for type 2 diabetes and better gut health. Some research finds they may aid in exercise recovery. A 2021 study in Nutrition Research showed an association between blueberry intake and lower blood pressure. That’s good, as uncontrolled high blood pressure is a risk factor for dementia.

The path to brain benefits

Researchers aren’t exactly sure how these small but mighty berries produce positive brain benefits, Lila notes, possibly because there are so many flavonoids in the blueberry that work together.

When you eat blueberries and they digest in your gastrointestinal tract, the smaller molecules move into the circulatory system. Then they shift back up into the brain to settle in brain tissues, passing the blood-brain barrier, Lila explains.

“It’s not one magic bullet,” Lila says. But when you eat a blueberry, your gut breaks it down into multiple compounds, which affect several parts of your body at the same time — helping your brain to work better, making you feel full and regulating your blood sugar.

A common element in most of the studies is that you need to eat blueberries regularly to receive the benefits, says Kitty Broihier, a dietitian and nutrition advisor to the Wild Blueberry Association of North America. In fact, research shows that regularly eating fruits and vegetables with flavonoids is linked with lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

How to get your blueberry benefits

If you have access to wild blueberries and can afford them, you might want to give them a try. Compared with cultivated blueberries, wild blueberries have 33 percent more anthocyanins and twice the amount of antioxidants than ordinary blueberries.

How much do you have to eat to get benefits? A lot of research on blueberries looks at consuming around 1 cup at a time, but there's no set timeline on how often you have to eat them aside from frequencies listed in studies. The MIND diet recommends at least two servings, or cups, of berries a week, but you can’t go wrong with having a serving of this super-fruit every day.

If you’re not up for the fruit itself, blueberry powder can be stirred into smoothies, oatmeal or baked goods. For loads of blueberry-filled recipes, visit Staying Sharp here.

Frozen, Fresh or Dried?

All blueberries are good for you, according to the American Heart Association (AHA), but fresh or frozen may be best. Freezing fruit when picked at its peak locks in nutrients — especially that good-for-you anthocyanin — maybe even more than fresh produce.

“The freezing process does not degrade the anthocyanin in wild blueberries,” David Yarborough, an emeritus professor of horticulture at the University of Maine, said in an email.

Opting for dried blueberries? They lose some polyphenols and flavor during processing, which is when many manufacturers add corn syrup, sugar or oil, the AHA notes. Those additives could negate the health benefits of the blueberries.

The amount of anthocyanin in berries depends how they are dried, but drying them usually reduces the content.

%{postComment}%

Kristen Fischer is a contributing writer at AARP based at the Jersey Shore. She has also written for Health, WebMD, and McKnights and is the author of Zoo Zen: A Yoga Story for Kids.