HEALTH BENEFITS OF CRANBERRY

#Protection against Urinary Tract Infection (UTI):

Long before researchers started investigating from the standpoint of science, cranberry has been used to help prevent and treat urinary tract infections (UTIs). While the acidity of cranberries was at one time an important target of research, we now know that cranberry's ability to provide UTI benefits is not primarily related to its acidity, but rather to its proanthocyanidin (PAC) content. The PACs in cranberry have a special structure (called A-type linkages) that makes it more difficult for certain types of bacteria to latch on to our urinary tract linings. Include in these types of bacteria are pathogenic (infection-causing) strains of E. coli—one of the most common microorganisms involved in UTIs. By making it more difficult for unwanted bacteria like E. coli to cling onto the urinary tract linings, cranberry's PACs help prevent the expansion of bacterial populations that can result in outright infection. The age group in which researchers are least sure about this process involves children—it's just not clear when cranberry's health benefits fully extend to this age group. The area where benefits have been most pronounced are in middle-aged women who have experienced recurrent UTIs. In some studies, UTIs in this age and gender group have been reduced by more than one—third through dietary consumption of cranberry.

#Anti-Inflammatory Benefits:

For the cardiovascular system and for many parts of the digestive tract (including the mouth and gums, stomach, and colon) cranberry has been shown to provide important anti-inflammatory benefits. It's the phytonutrients in cranberry that are especially effective in lowering our risk of unwanted inflammation, and virtually all of the phytonutrient categories represented in cranberry are now known to play a role. These phytonutrient categories include proanthocyanidins (PACs), anthocyanins (the flavonoid pigments that give cranberries their amazing shades of red), flavonols like quercetin, and phenolic acid (like hydroxycinnamic acids).

 

#Immune Support:

While research in this area is somewhat limited, recent studies on the immune support benefits of cranberry are exciting. In studies on very small numbers of human participants, intake of cranberry extracts has shown the ability to improve multiple aspects of immune function, and to lower the frequency of cold and flu symptoms in the subjects. In several of these studies, the cranberry extracts were standardized to contain a known, higher-end amount of proanthocyanidins (PACs)—somewhat comparable to a double-strength cranberry juice. From our perspective, the doses of cranberry extract used in these studies match up fairly well with generous intake of whole, raw cranberries, and we look forward to future studies focused on precisely that: intake of whole, raw cranberries and resulting changes in cold and flu symptoms.

#Anti-Cancer Benefits:

No area of cranberry research has been more intriguing in the past 10 years than research on cranberry and cancer, even though the majority of studies in this area have involved lab studies on human cancer cells or animal experiments. On a virtual year-by-year basis, scientists continue to identify new mechanisms that establish cranberries as anti-cancer agents. These mechanisms are now known to include: blocked expression of MMPs (matrix metalloproteinases); inhibition of ODC (ornithine decarboxylase enzymes); stimulation of QRs (quinone reductase enzymes); inhibition of CYP2C9s (Phase I detoxification enzymes); and triggering of apoptosis (programmed cell death) in tumor cells. It's important to point out that this amazing list of anti-cancer properties in cranberry is not sufficient to establish cranberry as a food to be used in the treatment of cancer. However, it is a list that appears consistent with other studies of cranberry and cancer showing dietary intake of this food to help prevent cancer occurrence. These cancer-preventive benefits of cranberry are especially likely in the case of breast, colon, lung, and prostate cancer.

#Digestive Tract Benefits:

When you add up the health-related benefits of cranberry for our mouth and gums (decreased risk of periodontal disease), stomach (decreased risk of stomach ulcer), and colon (decreased risk of colon cancer), it's impossible not to conclude that cranberry is unique among fruits in its ability to provide us with digestive tract benefits. Every category of phytonutrient known to be provided by cranberry is also known to play a role in digestive tract support. In the case of cranberry's proanthocyanidins, it's decreased adherence of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori to our stomach wall that's made possible by intake of cranberry. In the case of cranberry's flavonoids, anthocyanins and triterpenoids, provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits that decrease our risk of colon cancer, and also our risk of periodontal disease.