Blackcurrant berries come with a range of potential health benefits, including improved immune function, cognitive health, and heart health. This popular superfood may even enhance your next workout. We’ll discuss five great health benefits of blackcurrant berries and a convenient source of this nutritious treat.
Blackcurrants are small, dark blue-to-black berries with a tangy taste that are loaded with beneficial nutrients, especially those grown in New Zealand’s unique environment. Athletes around the world recognize the potency of New Zealand blackcurrant extracts.
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The incredible power of anthocyanins
New Zealand blackcurrant berries contain high levels of anthocyanins, which are powerful antioxidants that reduce inflammation through cell rejuvenation and neutralize unstable free radicals that can damage your cells. Anthocyanins are part of a category of plant-based pigments called flavonoids. “Research shows that flavonoids are powerful nutrients and are consistently associated with health benefits,” says Cleveland Clinic dietitian Joyce Prescott. “We think this is due, in part, to their antioxidant properties.”
The chemicals in blackcurrant berries can help to improve physical and cognitive performance and encourage faster recovery from exertion. In particular, New Zealand blackcurrant berries may increase your plasma’s capacity to carry oxygen before you start to exercise. This provides your body with a surge of energy and primes your antioxidant and inflammatory defense and recovery systems to go into immediate action. Furthermore, the anthocyanins in blackcurrants may have vasodilating effects, improving blood flow to the muscles and potentially improving athletic performance.
New Zealand blackcurrant berries anthocyanins
New Zealand blackcurrant berries benefit from the optimal growing conditions of New Zealand’s fertile soils, intensive UV exposure, and variable weather. The climate helps to develop the berries’ dark purple outer skins that are charged with some of the most concentrated anthocyanins in the world, including highly active and potent delphinidins and cyanidins:
- Delphinidins turn on your body’s antioxidant system, giving you the endurance to push harder and longer and recover faster. You can help yourself achieve optimal cellular priming by taking a New Zealand blackcurrant berries supplement before exercising. Research has shown that delphinidin may act as an anti-inflammatory and “can protect the body’s cells from damaging free radicals.”
- Cyanidins exhibit strong antioxidant activities and “can be seen as the most pharmaceutically effective anthocyanin subcomponent as they seem to have the greatest uptake rate, the least decay, and the most clinical significance out of all anthocyanins.”
We will discuss five potential health benefits that blackcurrant berries can offer you in their natural or supplement form.
Benefits of blackcurrant berries:
Improved exercise performance
A review of numerous studies confirms that New Zealand blackcurrant berries can have “meaningful effects on exercise performance.” When used before a workout, blackcurrant supplements can improve athletic performance and endurance by 4.6%. For example, studies show that New Zealand blackcurrant berries “improved cycling endurance and repeated high-intensity running performance.”
Blackcurrant berries also act as a vasodilator, relaxing and widening blood vessels to permit increased volumes of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to reach the muscles, especially during exercise.
Benefits of blackcurrant berries:
Promote faster recovery
Faster recovery from intense exercise is achieved through muscle adaptation, which can be activated by the unique ratio of delphinidin and cyanidin anthocyanins in New Zealand blackcurrant berries.
Furthermore, vasodilation removes waste products, including CO2 and lactic acid. Blackcurrant supplements that are taken just before working out prime your body for recovery by managing oxidative stress.
Benefits of blackcurrant berries:
Improved immune function
Your immune system protects you when pathogens such as bacteria are detected. New Zealand blackcurrant berries are naturally rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants, which help to support your immune system. Additionally, blackcurrants contain anthocyanins and a rich supply of omega-6 gamma-linoleic fatty acid, which can help empower your immune system to fight off all types of infections.
Benefits of blackcurrant berries:
Improved heart health
Atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque in coronary and peripheral arteries, results in diminished blood flow. This can lead to heart attacks, stroke, high blood pressure, and kidney failure. Cleveland Clinic dietitian Joyce Prescott cites research showing that “anthocyanins can intervene at different stages in the [plaque formation] process” and prevent the onset of disease. For one, anthocyanins can help reduce LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol. Furthermore, they may lower high blood pressure, which can weaken blood vessels, and prevent inflammation, which can encourage the formation of plaque.
Benefits of blackcurrant berries:
Improved cognitive function
Thinking clearly and responding quickly when needed are important. However, our mental functions can be diminished by insufficient oxygenation of our brains. This is especially true concerning the prefrontal cortex, where decisions are made, and the amygdala, where emotional and defensive reactions take place.
The anthocyanins in New Zealand blackcurrant berries support brain health and improve cognitive performance through an increased flow of nutrients and oxygen to the brain. For example, “A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study was conducted using 36 healthy young participants (18–35 years). The sample was given blackcurrant juice which was found to boost the ability to undertake tasks requiring alertness, vigilance, and sustained attention.”
New Zealand blackcurrant berries in the U.S.
Created by a team of sports nutrition experts in New Zealand, 2before Performance Nutrition has made blackcurrant berries available as a vegan supplement powder. It can be easily mixed with water or apple juice to drink before working out or before chores requiring exertion. Furthermore, the supplement powder can be added to smoothies for an extra health and recovery boost on rest days. It is available with and without caffeine.
Roger Hurst, the Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of 2before Performance Nutrition,
has been studying the effects of New Zealand blackcurrant berries for 15 years and was part of the team at the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research that discovered New Zealand blackcurrant berries support both exercise performance and recovery. Brendan Vercoe, CEO and co-founder, was part of the team that developed the 2before powdered juice formulation that provides the standardized dose of 120mg anthocyanins per serving and is now available to the American consumer.
As Brendan explains, “2before Performance Nutrition is on a mission to help athletes and fitness enthusiasts thrive in their chosen sporting endeavors through the power of one smart berry, the New Zealand blackcurrant. New Zealand athletes have been enjoying the performance, recovery, and immunity benefits of NZ blackcurrant berries for over 10 years, so we are excited to bring these benefits to U.S. consumers.”
2before Performance Nutrition blackcurrant berries supplement powders are tested by third-party labs and Informed Sports Certified.
Continuing your education
While blackcurrant berries offer a host of benefits, we recommend you conduct your own research into plant-extract-based nootropics and determine which may meet your expectations of improved physical performance and greater endurance. The more you know, the more informed your purchase decisions will be.
For Additional Knowledge and Information:
National Center for Biotechnology Information: Anthocyanidins and anthocyanins: colored pigments as food, pharmaceutical ingredients, and the potential health benefits
The Japan Times: NZ Blackcurrant; the King of Berries
Very Well Health: What Are Anthocyanins?
Important Note: The information contained in this article is for general informational purposes only, and should not be construed as health or medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or health condition. Before embarking on any diet, fitness regimen, or program of nutritional supplementation, it is advisable to consult your healthcare professional in order to determine its safety and probable efficacy in terms of your individual state of health.
Regarding Nutritional Supplements Or Other Non-Prescription Health Products: If any nutritional supplements or other non-prescription health products are mentioned in the foregoing article, any claims or statements made about them have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and such nutritional supplements or other health products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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