As the blueberry industry can attest, health research has been vital to the growth of the global blueberry market. While we’ve touched on blueberry health research in past episodes, it’s time to do a deep dive to better understand the current and potential health research that has been so critical to increased demand for blueberries..

Host Kasey Cronquist, USHBC and NABC president, is joined by Eric Rimm, Sc.D., professor of epidemiology and nutrition, director of the program in cardiovascular epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Rimm also sits on the USHBC Health Research Committee science advisory board. 

“This study would not have been possible, not just for the packets, but this was actually funded by the USHBC.” - Eric Rimm, Sc.D.

“Blueberries can actually be there for swapping something out of breakfast, it can be a side for a lunch or a dinner, and it could be a replacement for dessert. Where you still get all of the satisfaction of (taking) out something, but you still get to put blueberries in.” - Eric Rimm, Sc.D. 

Topics covered include: 

• Results and methods of the latest clinical trial with blueberries.
• Difficulties of a large-scale study.
• The concept of healthy swaps.
• The difference between “fad” diets and the research USHBC funds. 
• The next frontier for blueberry health research. 

Crop Report - October 21, 2020 

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout North America. In this episode, you’ll hear from Andres Armstrong in Chile, Luis Vegas in Peru, and Jose Luis Bustamante in Mexico. This was recorded October 2020.