New studies suggest that lingonberries could prevent weight gain and obesity-related diseases; in a study based on mice, researchers found that these berries helped to prevent obesity. The mice were genetically modified to become obese and develop features of obesity, and in the experiment the mice were fed a high fat diet for 13 weeks as a way of mimicking the fatty western diet. However, there were eight different groups of mice given eight different types of freeze-dried berry alongside the diet of fatty foods to see if the mice were affected in terms of weight gain. Two further control groups were given no berries, one of which ate the same high fat diet and another a low-fat diet. The final result was that all of the mice gained weight but the mice who were given the berries gained less weight. Lingonberries are a wild fruit popular in Scandinavia and, in studies, were the best at showing the lowest increase in body fat, cholesterol and blood sugar of all the high fat groups during the study. Naturally, as the study shows, the lingonberries aren’t an obesity cure which work on their own as a way to remove fat, but they could be an ingredient which could enable you to gain less weight as part of a healthy diet.
The research took place using six-week old mice who were engineered to develop obesity and pre-diabetes. The mice were split into 10 groups of 12 mice, and for 13 weeks they underwent the following:
- 8 groups were fed a high fat diet, where 45 per cent of their calories came from fat. This diet was supplemented with eight different freeze-dried berries which were freely available to them.
- 1 control group was fed a calorie-matched high fat diet without the berries.
- 1 control group was fed a low-fat diet, with 10 per cent of their calories from fat without the berries.
The body weight and food intake of the mice was monitored weekly, and at the end of the study the blood samples were assessed for sugar, insulin levels, cholesterol and other fats. The researchers also looked at bodily organs, including the spleen and liver, to see how much fat had built up. The energy intake was very much the same across all of the groups, with the exception of those eating blackcurrant and bilberries, who ate more food and calories. But the fasting blood sugar levels were much lower in the lingonberry and blackcurrant groups than the high fat controls. Both of these groups had glucose and insulin resistance levels similar to the mice in the low-fat diet group. Researchers believe that the lingonberries either fully or partially prevent the detrimental metabolic effects of a high fat diet – blackcurrants and bilberries had similar properties but weren’t as effective. The conclusion of the study was that the beneficial metabolic effects of the lingonberries could be helpful in preventing obesity and disorders related to being overweight. As part of a balanced diet and a regular exercise programme, lingonberries could help to maintain a healthy weight and prevent obesity-related disorders from developing. As with any diet, it’s important that you speak to your GP before undertaking any extreme changes to your dietary habits, as it could be detrimental to your health. But there has been no proof that adding lingonberries to your diet can do you any harm, so in moderation they could be the weight loss answer you’ve been looking for.
