Cranberries for Your Heart & Bladder Health
Researchers at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania found that men who drank 3 cups of cranberry juice daily raised their HDL (the good kind) cholesterol levels by 10%, which in turn lowered their risk of heart disease by 40%. Plant compounds called polyphenols are believed to be responsible for the effect.
(Note: Cranberry juice often comes diluted, so make sure the label says that it contains at least 27% cranberry juice. The drawback can be that its prepared with large amounts of sugar.)
Cranberries contain a natural antibiotic substance that makes the bladder walls inhospitable to the organisms responsible for urinary tract infections. This prevents the bacteria from forming colonies; instead, they are washed out of the body in the urine. Commercial cranberry juice is often too diluted to be effective in preventing or treating urinary infections. Use a juicer to make your own cranberry juice. To reduce the amount of sugar needed, dilute a cup of concentrated juice with 2 to 3 cups of apple juice and then sweeten to taste.
When buying cranberries: look for firm, bright red fruit. At their peak they will bounce when dropped; those that don't are likely to be soft and past their prime.
(Note: Cranberry juice often comes diluted, so make sure the label says that it contains at least 27% cranberry juice. The drawback can be that its prepared with large amounts of sugar.)
Cranberries contain a natural antibiotic substance that makes the bladder walls inhospitable to the organisms responsible for urinary tract infections. This prevents the bacteria from forming colonies; instead, they are washed out of the body in the urine. Commercial cranberry juice is often too diluted to be effective in preventing or treating urinary infections. Use a juicer to make your own cranberry juice. To reduce the amount of sugar needed, dilute a cup of concentrated juice with 2 to 3 cups of apple juice and then sweeten to taste.
When buying cranberries: look for firm, bright red fruit. At their peak they will bounce when dropped; those that don't are likely to be soft and past their prime.
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