Another great reason to include blueberries in your meal. According to a study published in the journal Nutrients, eating 25 grams of freeze-dried blueberries — the equivalent of a cup of natural blueberries — daily can improve athletic performance and help burn more body fat during exercise.
As part of this study, the scientists wanted to determine if a certain amount of these berries might accelerate the fat oxidation process due to the presence of an antioxidant, anthocyanin. For this, eleven cyclists completed forty minutes of cycling at a moderate pace. During this period, the scientists took blood samples by finger prick every 10 minutes. For two weeks, the athletes consumed 25 grams of freeze-dried wild blueberry powder daily. After this supplementation, they performed the same forty-minute cycle.
Increased fat oxidation
Results ? The tests revealed that fat oxidation rates increased by 19.7% at 20 minutes of exercise, 43.2% at 30 minutes, and 31.1% at 40 minutes, meaning the volunteers burned more fat following eating the berries. Thus, athletes burned more fat following consuming blueberries. “This study was the first to determine whether consumption of wild blueberries would result in higher rates of fat oxidation during an exercise protocol aimed at maximizing fat oxidation using cross-training exercises. ‘moderate intensity in healthy, trained men’, the authors point out in the report.
Before completing: “This new study has documented that the consumption of wild blueberries for 14 days increases [l’oxydation des graisses]decreased [l’oxydation des glucides] and decreased plasma lactate levels during 40 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling.”
