What is the Benefit of Cranberry Juice?
Cranberries are a small red fruit, native to North America and the first cranberry juice was made by American settlers in 1683. During the hundreds of years since then, cranberries have been consumed for their almost unbelievable health benefits. One benefit of cranberry juice is that it’s able to emulsify fat in the body because of its very high levels of organic acids. If you’re seeking to lose a few pounds, try cranberry juice along with some flax seed – lose weight and detoxify at the same time.
As cranberries are a fruit, they contain the vitamins, minerals and trace elements found in most other fruits. But the best-known benefit of cranberry juice is in relieving urinary tract infections caused by a strain of E-coli bacteria. The compounds in the juice block the bacteria from adhering to the walls of the bladder and flushes them out. Those same compounds prevent and break down kidney stones and reduce the risk of gout. And research has found another benefit of cranberry juice – it inhibits a type of bacteria (haemophilus influenzae) found in the nose and throat of 75% of healthy children. This bacterium also causes infections of the middle ear in children. That’s a good enough reason to give cranberry juice regularly to your kids.
Another benefit of cranberry juice – it has powerful anti-oxidants which battle free radicals, protecting the body against certain cancers. It also increases good cholesterol while lowering bad cholesterol. And did you know that drinking cranberry juice is good for your mouth, teeth and gums, preventing cavities and gingivitis? Those same compounds which work against urinary tract infections do the same for oral bacteria – prevents them from sticking to your teeth and gets rid of them.
You can buy pure cranberry juice in health food stores everywhere. Now – that’s not the same juice that you find in the supermarket – that’s cranberry cocktail which is mixed with other juices and will not provide all the benefits of cranberry juice you get from the health food store. Agreed, it tastes a little sour but add some pure apple juice to sweeten it if you’re giving it to your children or add cool water to cut the sourness a little – two ounces cranberry juice to eight ounces of water.
Fresh cranberries are available in stores from September through New Year’s – buy them fresh and juice them yourself. Choose bright, plump berries and don’t wash them until you use them as they will keep in the fridge for six to eight weeks. Or you can freeze them for up to a year. This means that you can enjoy the benefit of cranberry juice all year round and you know they’re pure because you bought them yourself.
Would you like to improve your skin as well as lose weight? Yet another benefit of cranberry juice. It also helps to clear up acne break-outs, reduce cellulite and protect against heart disease and reduces the risk of macular degeneration as we age – so many good things are in cranberries that we may be tempted to drink too much of it. But – it’s high in sugar as well as acids and can cause diarrhea, bloating, gas and abdominal pain. So drink up the benefits of cranberry juice by all means but two glasses a day is sufficient and one per day for children.
