Lingonberry is the Fat Fighting Berry

Unless you grew up in Scandinavia (or you do all of your food shopping at Ikea), you may not be familiar with lingonberries, sweet-tart fruits similar to raspberries that are popular in northern Europe. But you might start hearing a lot more about them soon: Lingonberries are better than other berries at countering the effects of a high-fat diet and blocking weight gain, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism.

For the study, researchers put mice on either a low-fat or high-fat diet, then fed some of them different types of berries (the berries comprised up to 20 percent of their diet). After three months, the mice that dined on a high-fat lingonberry plan had the best results; their weight gain was no different than the mice fed a low-fat diet, and their blood sugar and insulin levels were low, as well. 

Why did lingonberries beat out raspberries, blackberries, and acai berries, among other potential fat-fighters? Researchers suspect it has to do with their high levels of polyphenols, a type of antioxidant. And even though animal studies don't necessarily translate to humans, the study authors think that lingonberries may be a valuable tool in the fight against diabetes and obesity.

As you've surely noticed, though, lingonberries are hard to find in the U.S. (you can sometimes get them in jam form, but all that extra sugar will probably counteract the berries' potential health benefits). Luckily, raspberries had some of the same benefits of lingonberries—they helped the rats on a high-fat diet gain less weight and maintain lower fasting insulin levels than the control group, which consumed lots of fat but had no berries. So it can't hurt to add some to your diet if you're trying to score a flatter belly.

MORE: 6 Fat-Fighting Foods  

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