What is Bilberry (European blueberry)?
Bilberry is a small, dark blue wild berry from the low shrub Vaccinium myrtillus. It grows across Nordic forests, bogs and heaths. Unlike the farmed blueberry, its flesh is purple all the way through.
In Scandinavia it is food first. People pick it by the bucket and eat it fresh, or in jam, soup and porridge. It is also sold dried, as juice, and as concentrated capsules.
Here is the short verdict. The berry is a good food, but human proof for the eye and leg-vein claims is thin and mixed. Long use in folk medicine is not proof that it works, and it is not proof that strong extracts are safe.
How does Bilberry (European blueberry) work?
The proposed action comes from anthocyanins, the blue-purple pigments in the skin and flesh.
In test tubes, these pigments mop up free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that can damage cells. Lab and animal work also hints that they may support small blood vessels and reduce leaking from them.
A popular idea is that bilberry helps rhodopsin, the eye pigment used for seeing in dim light. This has been shown in lab settings. It has not been shown reliably in people with normal eyesight.
One thing tempers all of it. Anthocyanins are poorly absorbed, and only a small share reaches your blood. So an effect seen in a dish may never happen in your body.
What forms does Bilberry (European blueberry) come in?
Most people meet bilberry as food. Supplements use a concentrated berry extract instead.
Fresh or frozen berries: the usual Nordic form, eaten plain or in jam, soup and baking.
Dried berries: the traditional form for diarrhoea, chewed or simmered into a tea.
Standardised extract capsules: labelled by anthocyanin or anthocyanoside content, often 25 percent.
Juice, syrup and powders: strength varies a lot between brands, and some are mostly sugar.
Leaf tea: still sold in some shops. It carries the cautions listed in the safety section below.
Where it comes from:
Bilberry has a long, well-recorded place in Nordic life. The names tell you how common it was: blabaer in Norwegian, blabar in Swedish, mustikka in Finnish, sarrit in Northern Sami and adalblaber in Icelandic.
Folk healers used dried berries for diarrhoea and upset stomach. A cooled berry tea was used as a mouth rinse or gargle for sore mouths. Leaf tea was taken for high blood sugar in the years before insulin.
A famous story says British pilots ate bilberry jam to see better at night in the Second World War. Historians treat this as wartime spin, not fact. Modern interest in the eye claim grew out of it anyway.
Who should avoid Bilberry (European blueberry)?
- Do not take concentrated bilberry extract if you take warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban or any other blood thinner, unless your doctor agrees.
- Do not take the extract if you take aspirin or clopidogrel for clot prevention, without checking with your doctor first.
- Stop concentrated extracts about two weeks before any planned surgery or dental surgery.
- Never use bilberry in place of your diabetes medicine; if you take insulin or tablets for blood sugar, check with your doctor first.
- Never drink bilberry leaf tea day after day for long periods; high amounts over time may be harmful.
- Do not take bilberry supplements if you are pregnant or breastfeeding; eating the berries as food is fine.
- Do not give bilberry supplements to children; the berries themselves are ordinary food.
- Do not use if you have had an allergic reaction to bilberry, blueberry or cranberry.
- Do not use dried berries to treat diarrhoea in a baby, an older frail person, or anyone who looks dehydrated. Get medical help instead.
When should you see a doctor?
Stop and get medical advice if any of these happen.
Diarrhoea lasts more than two days, or there is blood or black tar in the stool.
You bruise easily, your gums bleed, or a cut will not stop bleeding.
You get signs of low blood sugar: shaking, sweating, hunger or confusion.
Your vision changes, blurs or dims. That needs an eye doctor, not a supplement.
Call emergency services for a rash with swelling of the face, lips or throat, or any trouble breathing.
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