What are Honeyberries?

Honeyberries are the edible fruits of Lonicera caerulea, a deciduous shrub growing 4-6 feet tall that produces funnel shaped white flowers in early spring, followed by dark blue berries ripening in late spring. Unlike typical blueberries, honeyberries thrive in various soils and extreme cold, making blue honeysuckle honeyberries a favorite for northern climates. Often called haskap berry or sweetberry honeysuckle, these superfruits are juicy, low-sugar and packed with fibre.

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Why are Honeyberries are called Haskap berries?

Honey berries and Haskap berries are the same berry. Honeyberries are called haskap berries because of the Ainu language in Hokkaido, Japan. The Ainu valued them for flavor and resilience, popularising the name alongside "honeyberry" in Canada and the UK.

Honeyberry origins

Honeyberries originate from cool temperate areas across North America, Europe, Asia, including Russia, Japan, China, and Hokkaido where the Ainu people named them haskap, meaning "little present on the branch." Cultivated in Japan as the "berry of longevity" and in Soviet programs for survival food, honeyberries reached the US Pacific Northwest and Midwest in recent decades. Today, honeyberry farming expands in the UK, Canada, and beyond for their early harvest before strawberries or blueberries.

Nutritional power of Honeyberries

Honeyberries stand out for their exceptionally high anthocyanin content, powerful antioxidants that give the berries their deep blue color and contribute to their superfruit status. These anthocyanins surpass levels found in blueberries, strawberries, or blackberries,

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What are Anthocyanins?

Anthocyanins are an important key to understanding these berry health benefits. Anthocyanins are naturally occurring plant pigments that give fruit and vegetables their deep purple, blue and red colours.

A diet containing berries may help us reduce the risk of developing chronic cardiac diseases, such as high blood pressure and heart attacks

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How much anthocyanin do you need?

Although there is still no agreed daily intake value for anthocyanins, a recent review paper recommended that we eat 50mg anthocyanins per day for optimal benefit. Most people in northern European counties, including the UK consume much lower amounts. So, taking just one to two teaspoons of Haskap Berry Powder, each day will give you your daily anthocyanin boost.

LEARN about anthocyanins

Our award-winning range

  •  

    Haskapa Superfood Berry Powder

    An easy-to-use powder with a naturally concentrated berry profile, blending easily into yoghurt, porridge, and smoothies.

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  •  

    Purition Haskapa Protein Blend

    High-protein, wholefood
    nutrition — a balanced combination of protein, healthy fats and fibre.

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  •  

    Haskapa Pure Juice

    Our organic haskap berry
    juices — all-natural, deep red and deliciously tangy, squeezed from organic
    berries.

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References

Intensive lifestyle changes for reversal of
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Sparler, W T
Armstrong, T A
Ports, R L
Kirkeeide, C
Hogeboom, R J
Brand. The
Journal of the American Medical Association, 281(15):1380 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9863851/

·      
Lifestyle Improvement
and the Reduced Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: The China-PAR Project (2023)
JIANG, Ying-Ying, et al. Journal of Geriatric Cardiology, 20(11) 779-787.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10716616/

 

·      
Effect of Lifestyle
Intervention on Metabolic Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors in Obese Older
Adults (2006) Villareal, Dennis T, et al. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 84 (6) https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/84.6.1317.

  • High anthocyanin intake is associated
    with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction in young and middle-aged
    women. Cassidy A, Mukamal KJ, Liu L, Franz M, Eliassen AH, Rimm EB.
    Circulation. 2013 Jan 15;127(2):188-96
  • Habitual intake of anthocyanins and flavanones
    and risk of cardiovascular disease in men. Cassidy A, Bertoia M, Chiuve S,
    Flint A, Forman J, Rimm EB. Am J Clin Nutr 2016;104:587–94.
  • Habitual intake of flavonoid subclasses
    and incident hypertension in adults. Cassidy A, O’Reilly ÉJ, Kay C,
    Sampson L, Franz M, Forman JP, Curhan G, Rimm EB.Am J Clin Nutr. 2011
    Feb;93(2):338-47.
  • Circulating Anthocyanin Metabolites
    Mediate Vascular Benefits of Blueberries: Insights From Randomized
    Controlled Trials, Metabolomics, and Nutrigenomics. Ana
    Rodriguez-Mateos, Geoffrey Istas, Lisa Boschek, Rodrigo P
    Feliciano, Charlotte E Mills, Céline Boby, Sergio Gomez-Alonso,
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    Gerontology: Series A, Volume 74, Issue 7, July 2019, Pages 967–976, https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glz047
  • Effects of Berry Anthocyanins on
    Cognitive Performance, Vascular Function and Cardiometabolic Risk Markers:
    A Systematic Review of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Intervention Studies
    in Humans (2021) Int J Mol Sci. Ahles S, Joris PJ, Plat J. 1 Jun
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  • A pilot dose–response study of the acute
    effects of haskap berry extract (Lonicera caerulea) on cognition,
    mood, and blood pressure in older adults. Bell, L. & Williams,
    C.M. Eur JNutr (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-018-1877-9
  • Recent research on the health benefits of
    blueberries and their anthocyanins. Wilhelmina Kalt,  Aedin
    Cassidy,  Luke R Howard,  Robert Krikorian,  April J
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    nmz065, https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmz065 (Published: 22 July 2019)
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