One of the first things you discover when looking for health information on blackberries is that most articles that discuss the subject are actually basing what they say on the positive health benefits of berries in general rather than blackberries in particular. And the second is that the Blackberry mobile phone makes internet searches really tricky – even when you’re looking at peer-reviewed papers from medical journals.
But that aside, there is no doubt of the healthy properties of blackberries. They’re rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, magnesium, zinc and they’re high in fibre. But it’s the polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, salicylic acid, ellagic acid and other nutrients that are really interesting. These have diverse health effect and help to drive the strong anti-oxidant properties of the berries.
Some examples of recent research on blackberries include the finding that they can help control gastric inflammation, had anti-viral properties against the herpes simplex virus and, in the test tube at least, blackberry extracts show potent anti-cancer properties. The most striking piece of recent research showed that blackberry extracts caused a significant reduction in glucose levels in diabetic rats. That said, there really is very little research that focuses on the blackberry rather than blueberries, for example.
Still, there’s no dispute that blackberries are good for you, and that they taste great.
