Overview

• University of Colorado researchers randomized 61 Denver-area infants aged about 5–12 months to receive daily freeze-dried blueberry powder or a placebo.
• Infants given the blueberry powder showed reported reductions in allergy symptoms, lower inflammation, stronger immune biomarkers, and beneficial shifts in gut microbiota.
• Findings were peer reviewed and published in Nutrients and Frontiers in Nutrition, reported as the first randomized, placebo-controlled test of a single early food in infants.
• Parents were advised to prepare blueberries safely by pureeing for younger infants and mashing or cutting into small pieces for older babies to reduce choking risk.
• The authors described the study as an initial step and called for larger, more diverse trials while exploring other early foods that might support gut and immune development.