Cranberry

Cranberry: Nature's Purple Medicine

Although it generously offers us its nutrients, we don't tend to choose it often.

The reason for cranberries with their purple color, which more and more research proves its positive effects for our body.

The fruit

Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) belongs to the same family as Bilberry. It comes from North America and is actually a tiny fruit with a purple color, which for many centuries before the settlement of the first settlers in America, the Indians considered it valuable for its nutritional and therapeutic value.

Little "Bomb" of nutrients

Cranberries are a very good source of vitamins C, K and E, manganese and fiber. More specifically, half a cup of tea (about 50 g.) contains 6.65 mg of vitamin C, 2.30 g. fiber, 0.18 mg of manganese, 2.55 mg of vitamin K and 0.60 mg of vitamin E. This fruit can very easily be included in a diet menu, since it is low in calories.
But, beyond the nutritional value, by eating these fruits we enrich our diet with powerful antioxidant ingredients. It has been found that cranberries are particularly rich in proanthocyanidins, flavonoids, flavonols, ellagic acid, chlorogenic acid, quercetin, myricetin and other substances, which together are compounds with antioxidant activity two and five times stronger than those of vitamins C and Well, respectively. So this means that they prevent the damage caused by free radicals, i.e. the harmful oxygen molecules produced in the human body that are responsible for cancer, heart disease and a host of other serious problems.

Fights urinary tract infections

According to a Harvard University Medical School study involving elderly women, drinking 1-2 glasses of cranberry juice daily for six months reduced the number of bacteria in their bladders, reducing their chances of developing infections by 60%. At the same time, women with a UTI who drank juice were 75% more likely to get over it faster.

Previous studies have shown that cranberry has the ability to significantly reduce the recurrence of UTIs in pre-adolescent girls. Men can also benefit from cranberry, as it has been shown to fight prostate inflammation and reduce the risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Protects the heart

Cranberry consumption reduces "bad" cholesterol and fights chronic inflammation that has been linked to the development of arterial plaque, preventing the onset of cardiovascular disease.

Protects oral health

According to research it reduces gum inflammation caused by the bacteria responsible for periodontitis.