Fat Thursday: The best food for weight loss - according to Dr Neal Barnard

A top doctor has touted this humble fruit as the best food for weight loss.

For years, experts have recommended eating superfoods such as quinoa and chia seeds - but one appears to have gone under the radar. Now, Dr Neal Barnard, founding president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, has recommended this fruit, praising it as the "number one" food for burning fat.

Speaking to Steven Bartlett on his Diary Of A CEO podcast, Dr Barnard revealed which fruit is an essential addition to any shopping list.

He said: "The people who decide to eat more of these foods and bring them into their diet are losing weight. If you are eating blueberries for dessert, you’re not eating the custard creams - maybe that’s part of it.

"But even when you control for that, you still see the weight loss and we believe that the reasons are that these are high-fibre foods."

The reason, he says, that blueberries are so good for weight loss is that they are not only low in calories, but packed with something called anthocyanins. These are plant pigments that can positively affect both your appetite and metabolism.

His claims are well-documented in scientific research too; a study by the University of Michigan found that a diet with blueberries led to lower triglycerides, lower cholesterol, and improved fasting glucose and insulin sensitivity.

It could also reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, the study found.