Blackcurrants
The darkest berry here, and the only one whose measured effect is about exercise.
How to use it
Raw, or frozen through yoghurt and smoothies. Fresh they are sharp, and that is the point.
The best version
Deep black and firm, fresh in season and frozen the rest of the year. Cordial and liqueur are sugar with the colour added.
How to prepare it
Do not heat them unless you have to. Let them thaw in your yoghurt rather than in a pan.
What it does
In twelve recreationally active women walking briskly for half an hour, blackcurrant extract made the body burn more fat. Ten of the twelve responded, and among them the gain ranged from 10 to 66 percent depending on their body composition.
Watch out
This was an extract rather than a handful of berries, in twelve women, and two of them did not respond at all. Burning more fat during a walk is also not the same thing as losing weight.