Berries

What it does

Anthocyanin pigments cross into the brain and blunt oxidative damage.

• Slower cognitive decline

Where the number comes from

Berries sits in the fruit group of the Fadnes model, the only peer-reviewed model that converts eating into years of life. The lifetime gain for that group is spread across the days you actually eat it — a daily serving from age 20 to 80 — which gives +10 min per serving. The authors rate the evidence behind this group as low.

What it is made of

• Anthocyanins
• Vitamin C
• Fibre

Which kind

• Blueberry — the most-studied berry for memory
• Jam / blackberry — deepest local pigment — same anthocyanin family
• Strawberry — lighter pigment, more vitamin C
• Amla — extraordinary vitamin C for its size

How to eat it

Frozen counts — the colour is the medicine.

Source: Devore et al. · Annals of Neurology, 2012 (cohort).

Minutes derived from Fadnes LT, Økland J-M, Haaland ØA, Johansson KA. Estimating impact of food choices on life expectancy: A modeling study. PLOS Medicine 19(2):e1003889, 2022. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003889