How Eating Berries for Breakfast Increases Your Vo2 and Health

Ok, the title was quite clickbait, but actually anthocyanin, a type of flavonoid (a class of compounds with antioxidant effects) , responsible for the vibrant colour of berries is studied particularly for its antioxidants properties and 

its potential to protect against heart disease and certain cancers, improve cognitive function, and reduce inflammation. In this article you will learn about the what research says about the potential positive impact of anthocyanin on performance.

Growing Interest

I noticed a strong interested recently on the benefits that eating a certain amount of breakfast everyday can have on performance, as I noticed lots of pro athletes on social media posting their breakfast eating them combined with a protein source and some carbs and plenty of recent studies about berries derived anthocyanin.

Effects on Endurance Training Induced Responses

The potential beneficial effect of anthocyanin supplementation on training induced responses seems to be related to lower oxidative stress, inflammation, muscle damage, and fatigue, and increased production of nitric oxide, with subsequent improvements in vascular function and muscle oxygenation leading to improved performance. In addition, some papers find an increase in fat oxidation. Moreover, oral ingestion of anthocyanins in mice has been shown to enhance exercise performance by activating lactate metabolism through skeletal muscle PGC-1α (a regulator in the cell of energy production)  upregulation. Extrapolation of these findings to human muscle during a period of physical training could provide positive benefits of regular anthocyanin intake on training adaptations. However, this last point is speculative and therefore further research on the potential combined effects of anthocyanin intake and physical training on biological adaptations is required. 

Research Findings

In different studies (cited down below) a 2 weeks daily intake of 105mg of anthocyanins from a natural source brought the following enhancements in performance: 

Suggested Protocols:

Have them for breakfast combined with a protein source (yoghurt) and a carb source such as cereals or slices of bread with what you like and juice. Berries are usually very expensive so I suggest you to buy frozen berries as they are just as good, are easier to store and cheaper. Eat at least 50g of a mix of berries and you should be good.

 

Bibliography

Fruit-Derived Anthocyanin] s: Effects on Cycling-Induced Responses and Cycling Performance

Anthocyanin-rich supplementation: emerging evidence of strong potential for sport and exercise nutrition

Dietary anthocyanins: A review of the exercise performance effects and related physiological responses

The efficacy of administering fruit-derived polyphenols to improve health biomarkers, exercise performance and related physiological responses

The effect of anthocyanin supplementation on body composition, exercise performance and muscle damage indices in athletes