Are Blueberries Good For Weight Loss?

This article has been Fact-Checked by Kendall Kennedy MS, RD, RYT

Putting together your weight loss diet can be confusing with all the options. What about blueberries, are they good for weight loss?

Blueberries are a very popular type of berry all round the world. You can eat them on their own or as part of many recipes.

Like most fruits, many people will benefit in terms of weight loss by eating more whole blueberries. Find out just how good they are and how they compare to other fruit options for weight loss.

Micronutrients in blueberries

The first thing to look at is the amount of micronutrients in blueberries.

Micronutrients are a group of nutrients your body absolutely needs to survive and thrive. Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals. These are involved in basically every aspect of your health, including weight loss.

100 grams of blueberries provides you with approximately (1):

• Vitamin K: 24% of the DV (Daily Value)
• Manganese: 17% of the DV
• Vitamin C: 16% of the DV

And some other vitamins and minerals in less significant amounts. The amount of other vitamins and minerals in blueberries is rather lacking compared to many other whole foods.

For most vitamins and minerals blueberries are not the greatest fruit.

Blueberries also contain certain kinds of antioxidants, substances that help your body deal with oxidative damage. It is not entirely clear if and to what extent antioxidants help weight loss.

Fiber in blueberries for weight loss

Another very important factor for weight loss is the amount of fiber in your food.

Blueberries contain around 2.4 grams of fiber per 100 grams.

That’s a good amount of fiber per 100 grams compared to many whole foods.

Fiber has multiple benefits for weight loss. First of all, it feeds your microbiome, the microbes that live in your intestines. The health of your microbiome influences your body’s health and weight. Feeding it well is usually not a bad idea.

Fiber also helps you feel less hungry without adding a lot of calories to your diet. Hunger and cravings can be a big pitfall for people trying to lose weight, so avoiding this is a big plus.

With the amount of fiber in blueberries you can reduce the time you spend craving for food a good amount.

Do blueberries help you lose weight?

You still need a final piece of the puzzle. The amount of calories in blueberries.

Blueberries contain 57 calories per 100 grams. 51.7 of these calories come from the carbohydrates (14.5 g per 100 grams of which 2.4 g fiber). One cup of blueberries (148 g) contains around 84.4 calories.

There are better berries than blueberries for low carb diets like the keto diet but you should be able to fit some in if you want.

The amount of calories in blueberries is not that high in general. There are both lower-calorie fruits and higher calorie fruits. Compared to many vegetables blueberries are a little higher in calories.

That being said, blueberries are still generally a very low-calorie food that can help you feel fuller with its fiber content. This can help you avoid higher-calorie foods. For most people that, and thus eating more blueberries, is enough to help them lose weight.

If you don’t like blueberries you don’t have to go out of your way to force it into your daily eating habits, blueberries are not a unique weight loss food. Other foods can be better for weight loss.

If you are gaining weight while eating blueberries, the first place to look at is the rest of your diet and other lifestyle habits. Blueberries are generally not fattening.

How many blueberries a day should you eat to lose weight?

Nutrition is always a bit of a puzzle in terms of what the perfect diet looks like. It’s a pretty individual thing.

Consuming enough vitamins and minerals is important for both your short and long-term health and weight loss. Blueberries don’t help you reach your daily vitamin and mineral goals that much so you will need other foods as well.

That’s why something like the fruit diet, mostly eating fruits, is just plain bad for you.

A typical serving size for blueberries is about 1/2 cup which is about 74 grams blueberries.

Some people use this serving size as a daily recommendation for everyone but every situation is different.

If you have consumed enough vitamins and minerals you can see how many blueberries still fit within your daily calories. The amount will be different from individual to individual from day to day, it can be 0 too.

Do blueberries help you burn belly fat?

Targetting fat loss in a specific area like your belly is generally not possible. Not by eating more of a specific food or by doing a specific exercise. To burn belly fat you have to lose weight overall.

Since blueberries can help you lose weight in general this fruit can also help you lose belly fat once your body wants to lose fat in your abdominal area.

How to eat blueberries for weight loss

Blueberries make for a great snack on their own but they also combine great with other healthy foods. Here are some healthy dishes you can combine with blueberries:

• Yogurt
• Oatmeal
• Salad
• Smoothie

If you are looking to lose weight you want to avoid recipes with blueberries like muffins, pancakes, waffles, cake and most other dessert recipes.

Blueberries vs other popular fruits for weight loss

You now know how good blueberries are for weight loss but how do they compare to certain other fruits? Find out how good blueberries are for weight loss vs blackberries, strawberries, cranberries, and raspberries.

Blueberries vs blackberries

The first comparison is between blueberries and blackberries. If you look at the calorie amounts you can see that blackberries contain less. Blueberries contain around 57 calories per 100 grams vs the 43 calories per 100 grams of blackberries (2).

Blueberries contain around 2.4 grams of fiber per 100 grams, blackberries 5.3 grams. Blackberries contain slightly higher amounts of vitamins and minerals.

Blackberries will likely be better for weight loss than blueberries.

Blueberries vs strawberries

Next there is blueberries vs strawberries. Strawberries are lower in calories than blueberries, 32 calories per 100 grams vs the 57 calories per 100 grams of blueberries (3).

Strawberries contain around 2.0 grams of fiber per 100 grams so very similar to blueberries. Strawberries contain a good amount of vitamin C but besides that blueberries generally contain higher amounts.

The difference will not be that big but strawberries are likely slightly better for weight loss than blueberries.

Blueberries vs cranberries

Cranberries are another popular type of berry. Cranberries are a tiny amount lower in calories than blueberries, 46 calories per 100 grams (4).

There is a reasonable difference in the amount of fiber in these fruits. Blueberries have about 2.4 grams of fiber per 100 grams vs cranberries with 4.6 grams. The amount of vitamins and minerals in these 2 fruits is similar.

Cranberries will likely be better for weight loss than blueberries.

Blueberries vs raspberries

Lastly the comparison between blueberries and raspberries. Raspberries are very slightly lower in calories, 52 calories per 100 grams (5).

Raspberries are a relatively big amount higher in fiber, 6.5 grams per 100 grams. In terms of vitamins and minerals, blueberries and raspberries are very similar.

All in all, raspberries will be better for weight loss than blueberries.

Chart of blueberries vs other popular fruits

All in all, the differences between these fruits won’t make that much of a difference when it comes to losing weight. If you like all these fruits equally you might as well choose the ones that are slightly better for weight loss.

The amount of vitamins and minerals in the foods does matter for weight loss and health but you can’t simplify that in one number. You can check out the numbers for blueberries (1), blackberries (2), strawberries (3), cranberries (4), and raspberries (5) to compare.