In a recent study published within the journal Nutrients, researchers investigate whether blueberry consumption could improve the clinical outcomes, functioning, and overall quality of life of people with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID).

Study: Blueberries Improve Abdominal Symptoms, WellBeing and Functioning in Patients with Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders. Image Credit: Bukhta Yurii / Shutterstock.com

Background

FGID impact 10-15% of most populations and infrequently involves functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). While the particular mechanisms of FGID remain unclear, certain aspects, equivalent to sensitization of the nervous system, gut permeability modulation, immune activation, and enteric microbiome changes, are regarded as interrelated and impacted by dietary aspects.

Enteric microbiota are believed to play an important role in most of the mechanisms of FGID. Moreover, dietary components can influence enteric microbiota with downstream epigenetic changes within the host.

One of the common antioxidants in food is polyphenols, that are essentially the most abundant metabolites present in plants. Blueberries are wealthy in polyphenols, with various epidemiological and mechanistic studies reporting that regular consumption of blueberries is linked to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, in addition to improvements in visual and brain function.

Nonetheless, despite the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, neuroprotective, and membrane permeability reversing properties of blueberries that may gain advantage FGID patients, there stays a scarcity of clinical studies involving FGID patients that examined the impact of blueberry consumption.

Concerning the study

In the current study, researchers examine the impact of blueberry consumption on the laboratory measures and clinical symptoms of FGID. These results were in comparison with those of a placebo with matching sugar composition but no polyphenol or dietary fiber content.

FGID patients were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled cross-over, two-arm, single-center study. White male or female patients between the ages of 18 and 60 years inside a selected body mass index (BMI) range, having IBS or functional dyspepsia, were enrolled within the study.

Participants were excluded if there was evidence of other diseases that were clinically significant within the medical history, stool or blood tests, endoscopy, ultrasound, or computerized tomography (CT) scan. Individuals who began taking recent medications in the course of the study period had probiotics or antibiotics two weeks preceding the study or in the course of the study, were pregnant or breastfeeding, had a colonoscopy, or had planned dietary modifications were excluded.

Various questionnaires were used to find out baseline demographic data, gastrointestinal, extra-gastrointestinal, depression, and anxiety symptoms and assess dietary habits and private history. The Bristol stool scale was used to find out stool consistency. Moreover, fructose breath tests were used to measure methane and hydrogen concentrations in breath, together with the occurrence of symptoms equivalent to heartburn, abdominal pain, diarrhea, flatulence, borborygmi, and nausea.

The treatment consisted of freeze-dried blueberry powder with measured dietary composition, while the control consisted of taste-matched blueberry powder placebo with matching sugar composition without the polyphenol and fiber content. Each treatment and placebo were taken twice a day in 15 g doses after meals.

Blueberries improve quality of life and abdominal pain in FGID patients

About 53% of patients reported relief in abdominal pain symptoms after blueberry treatment as in comparison with placebo at 30%. Although the entire Gastrointestinal Clinical Rating Scale and pain scores weren’t significantly different between the blueberry treatment and placebo groups, the rankings for all times functioning and quality of life improved after blueberry treatment as in comparison with the placebo.

Six weeks of blueberry treatment resulted in significant improvement in abdominal pain symptoms, which was considered one of the 2 primary outcomes examined. Secondary outcomes, including life functioning, quality of life, and overall well-being, were also improved as in comparison with the placebo. These quality-of-life improvements could also be partly influenced by the alleviation of gastrointestinal symptoms.

For the opposite measures, the differences in treatment effects weren’t statistically significant. Nonetheless, the relief in abdominal pain and overall improvements in life function and quality of life scores after blueberry treatment as in comparison with placebo indicated that the dietary fiber and polyphenol composition of blueberries, fairly than the sugar content, was accountable for the helpful effects.

Conclusions

The polyphenol and dietary fiber content of blueberries can significantly reduce abdominal pain and improve the standard of life in FGID patients. While the opposite markers of gastrointestinal function didn’t significantly differ between the blueberry treatment and placebo groups, the outcomes suggest that the broad advantages exerted by the blueberry eating regimen weren’t related to the sugar content of blueberries.