Blueberry drink and mood in children and young adults
What it found
A blueberry drink raised positive mood two hours later in healthy children and young adults, but did not change negative mood.
Both studies were in people.
What they found
Studies in people
Positive mood in adults
Young adults reported higher positive affect 2 hours after the blueberry drink. Positive affect did not change after the placebo drink.
Positive mood in children
Children reported higher positive affect 2 hours after the blueberry drink. Positive affect did not change after the placebo drink.
Negative mood
Negative affect did not change after the blueberry drink in either study. In the young adult study, negative affect fell after both the blueberry and placebo drinks.
Other findings
Drink contents
The blueberry drink contained 253 mg of anthocyanins, prepared from 30 g of freeze-dried wild blueberries. The placebo was matched for vitamin C and sugars.
What the authors conclude
“This study demonstrated acute effects of blueberry flavonoid consumption on Positive Affect and no effect on Negative Affect in healthy children and young adults.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the blueberry drink increased positive affect and had no effect on negative affect in healthy children and young adults.
- They write that dietary interventions could play a key role in promoting positive mood and are a possible way to prevent dysphoria and depression.
- They call for the study to be replicated and for the findings to be translated into practical, cost-effective and acceptable interventions.
How it was done
Depression is common and treatments for young people are limited, so the authors wanted to test whether a flavonoid-rich drink could improve mood. They focused on positive mood because low positive mood is linked to depression.
In one study, 21 young adults aged 18 to 21 drank a wild blueberry drink and a placebo drink on separate days. In a second study, 50 children aged 7 to 10 were given either a blueberry drink or a placebo. Mood was measured before and 2 hours after the drinks.
What it can’t tell you
- The studies only looked at mood 2 hours after one drink, so they cannot show what happens with longer or repeated consumption.
- The young adult group was mostly female, so the results may not apply to men.
- The studies used healthy children and young adults, so the findings may not apply to people with depression.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
- Authors work at
- University of Reading, UK
The paper
- Title
- Effects of Acute Blueberry Flavonoids on Mood in Children and Young Adults
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Khalid S, Barfoot KL, May G, Lamport DJ, Reynolds SA, Williams CM (2017). Effects of Acute Blueberry Flavonoids on Mood in Children and Young Adults. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu9020158Free full textPubMed 28230732DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error