Could Lingonberries Prevent Weight Gain from Junk Food?

For most if not all of us, we always have a soft spot for junk food. Fortunately, Swedish scientists have recently discovered that ligonberries may play a role in helping to stop weight gain.

For the study, researchers from Lund University examined the use of the Scandinavian berries along with blueberries, raspberries, crowberries, prunes, blackberries, acai berries, and black currants. They found by studying mice who were fed a high-fat diet that when divided into groups and fed different berries, those fed ligonberries had the most success not gaining weight when they examined their blood sugar and insulin readings.

"While the findings in mice are exciting, it should absolutely not be interpreted as a license to eat an unhealthy diet as long as you add lingonberries," researcher Lovisa Heyman told the Daily Mail.

"But we certainly hope to investigate if lingonberries could be part of dietary strategies to prevent obesity also in humans," Heyman added.

Researchers hope to replicated the same study in humans, according to background information from the findings. 

"Up to 20 per cent of our mice's diet was lingonberries. It isn't realistic for humans to eat such a high proportion," said co-author Karin Berger, according to the news organization.

"However, the goal is not to produce such dramatic effects as in the 'high-fat' mice, but rather to prevent obesity and diabetes by supplementing a more normal diet with berries," said Berger.

What do you think?