No doubt your recent Thanksgiving meal included a delicious, slightly tart cranberry dish. Megan Ware, RDN LD discusses this super food in her report titled “Cranberries: Health Benefits, Facts, Research” (updated 2/15/16). Found often on hostess tables throughout November and December, cranberries may appear in a variety of sauces, jells, and drinks, as well as in fresh or dried cranberry form added to yogurt, salads, casseroles, stuffing, or dessert. Because Native Americans used cranberries not only for food, but also for medicine and clothing dyes, the fruit’s connection with the holidays seems to be a natural derivation.
This “super food” is known for its high nutrient and antioxidant content, boosting the body’s immune system (second only to blueberries). It is a good source of Vitamin E. Years ago, because of its Vitamin C content, sailors carried cranberries aboard their ships to prevent scurvy (a Vitamin C deficient disease). The high fiber content of cranberries lowers the risk for developing coronary heart disease and high cholesterol levels, some gastrointestinal diseases, and diabetes. Cranberries have also been shown to improve insulin sensitivity. The cranberry also aids obesity patients because it is helpful for weight loss (it contains only 25 calories per 1/2 cup). Additionally, Ware explains a few other maladies that cranberries can help conquer:
1. URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS (UTIs): Those of us (especially women) who have had reoccurring bladder infections have often been advised to drink cranberry juice. Indeed, the high levels of the fruit’s proanthocijadins (PACs), or antioxidant flavonoids, help reduce the sticking together of certain bacteria to the urinary walls, thus promoting the resolving of urinary infections. However, recent research reveals that while cranberry capsules have been shown to help, it takes an extremely large concentration of cranberry, not found in the juice we drink, to prevent this cohesion.
2. CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD): The polyphenols, or micronutrients in cranberries, may reduce the risk of CVD by preventing blood platelet build-up and, thus, reducing blood pressure via anti-inflammatory processes.
3. CANCERS: In research studies, cranberry micronutrients have shown the slowing down of tumor growth, especially in prostate, liver, breast, ovarian, and colon cancers.
4. DENTAL: The same ingredient in cranberries that helps prevent UTIs may also aid in oral health by preventing bacteria from binding to teeth, according to University of Rochester Medical Center’s Dental Research Center. There has been some study on the possibility that the fruit my also be beneficial in preventing gum disease.
Wisconsin ranks #1 in cranberry production with Fall the best season for purchasing this extraordinary fruit, which can be refrigerated up to two months and also frozen for later use.
*** Two cautious warnings on the use of cranberries do exist. This red fruit may promote kidney stones. Also, if you take Warfarin or Coumadin, there is conflicting evidence that cranberries might enhance these drugs’ effects on your body.
