Cranberries, one of the three native North American fruits in commercial production, are generally known for their juice and their tasty partnership with turkey. But in recent years they have also been recognized as a super food, providing beneficial nutrients that can prevent or even heal bodily ailments.

Free radicals be gone

Like all dark-coloured fruits, cranberries contain powerful antioxidants that can neutralize free radicals, helping to prevent disease and repair damaged cells. They may sound like a left-wing political party, but free radicals are simply unstable atoms that have the potential to alter genes and damage cells if not neutralized. Produced during metabolism they are increased by stress and exposure to toxins (including cigarette smoke, alcohol and fast foods). Oxidative stress arising from free radical activity is involved in many chronic diseases, including cancer and heart disease.

Heart disease take a hike

In the area of heart disease, a study showed that regular consumption of cranberry juice powder increased the relaxation of cardiac vessels in men with heart disease. In another study a cranberry diet reduced the level of low density lipoprotein (commonly called “bad” cholesterol) by 22 per cent in pigs with a familial form of high cholesterol. A glass of cranberry juice has been shown to be as effective as red wine in modifying the production of an enzyme that supports heart health.

Cancer kicked out

Epidemiologic studies of diet and disease in some populations have shown that diets high in fruits and vegetables reduce the risk of some cancers. This is not yet an area that has been well researched with respect to cranberry ingestion, but a study in mice with breast cancer showed that diets high in cranberry products slowed tumour growth and reduced the spread of cancer to the rest of the body compared to mice not eating cranberry.

Urinary tract infections vanish

One of the most commonly recognized benefits of cranberry is its ability to prevent or heal urinary tract infections.

A relatively recent discovery is that the proanthrocyanoids (PACs) in cranberries have anti-adhesion properties. These are thought to reduce urinary tract infections (UTIs) by preventing pathogenic bacteria in the urine from sticking to the bladder wall and proliferating by flushing them out of the body in the urine. 

In more than one study cranberry cocktail was found to significantly reduce the number of recurrent UTIs and the length of each episode. Because UTIs can be very serious, it is not recommended that people treat it themselves. Rather they should seek medical help and take cranberry juice as well as any prescribed antibiotics. 

Colds and flus past pests

It also turns out that PACs have similar non-stick effects elsewhere in the body. In the mouth they impede bacteria from sticking to the teeth, and so could prevent inflammation of the gums and periodontal disease. They may also reduce flu infections by preventing the flu virus from attaching to cells. In the stomach, cranberry PACs inhibit the adhesion of the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers (H. pylori) to the cells of the gut. In a 2005 study, people who drank two glasses of cranberry cocktail a day were more than three times as likely to suppress H. pylori than those in the control group.

To get all these potential health benefits it is necessary to ingest cranberry products regularly, and not just as cranberry sauce with turkey. Many studies used commercial cranberry cocktail as the source of cranberries, but because these cocktails have a sugar content around 27 per cent, they are not the healthiest option. 

Unsweetened juice can be made from cranberry juice powder, or from fresh or frozen cranberries by boiling 110 grams of berries in 150 ml of water just until the berries pop. Fresh or unsweetened, dried or freeze-dried berries are also a good choice.

Cranberries are in season now and may be sold at bargain prices in stores with a glut of unsold berries following Thanksgiving.

Pick up a few bags and freeze them future use — your body will thank you.