‘These are like blueberries on steroids,’ says Alex Glover, nutrition development lead at Holland & Barrett. ‘Great for cognitive function and cardiovascular health, taken in powder or juice form.’

A true superfood. Haskapa berry powder is packed with vitamin C, antioxidants and anthocyanins.

The mechanics behind the performance boost are not yet fully understood, but Professor Howatson and his team believe the berries may affect runners' ability to "combat exercise-induced inflammation and oxidative stress or improve vascular function and oxygen utilisation – or indeed a combination of the three."

“These powerful little berries appear to help runners perform better during fatiguing tasks, and increasing running speed over a commonly run distance of 5km,” Dr Glyn Howatson of Northumbria University said.

Glyn Howatson, professor in human and applied physiology at Northumbria University, found that after consuming [the berries] daily for a week, recreational runners took longer to fatigue.

Published in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients, the double-blind, placebo-controlled trial saw 30 male recreational runners tackle a series of endurance tests. Those who had consumed haskap berries enjoyed two significant benefits. Firstly, it took them longer to tire out. And secondly, they ran faster.

"It's got the highest antioxidant levels of all berries". It's time for 'Things We Love' with Laura, Sherri & Tor. This is what they can't get enough of right now!

These contain four times more anthocyanins than blueberries and triple the antioxidants. They are said to lower blood pressure, prevent diabetes and have anti-inflammatory properties. It is claimed they can play a role in sports nutrition too, improving performance.

"I felt that from a nutrition perspective there was much more to this berry than its distinct flavour, so we set out to capture the berry's unusually large amounts of anthocyanins"

Anthocyanins – a specific pigment found in high concentrations in blackcurrants, blackberries and blueberries, as well as in aubergine (in the skin), red cabbage, cranberries and cherries – are a very beneficial antioxidant. And this Purple Porridge recipe is a wonderful way to get your daily anthocyanin boost.

A nutrient rich berry that is native to northern hemisphere countries including Canada, Japan and Russia, the double-skinned haskap berry is the latest superfood discovering. Haskap berries are incredibly high in antioxidants, up to three times more antioxidants than blueberries.

Haskapa is VERY nice-tasting. I was going to share the bag with my partner... but didn't.