Choose Cranberries for Good Health

More studies show the berries’ benefits

Many nutrition-focused folks warn against the typical holiday eating patterns: eating too many sweets and treats and just consuming a lot in general. But research indicates there’s one popular holiday food you can go back to for seconds – and even thirds – without feeling too guilty: cranberries.

According to experts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), cranberries have been shown to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women. They’ve also been shown to prevent plaque formation on teeth and kill H. pylori bacteria, which can cause stomach cancers and ulcers. And, cranberries are chock full of antioxidants. Antioxidants are natural components of food that can help the body fight free radicals, harmful compounds that can destroy healthy cells and stimulate cellular aging.

Other research indicates cranberry juice could increase the levels of HDL (good cholesterol) and reduce the levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) and may even prevent tumor growth. While additional trials are necessary to confirm all of these relationships, several studies substantiate the NIH’s findings on cranberries’ ability to prevent UTIs.

For example, a study conducted by the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and published in the Canadian Journal of Urology provided 150 women ages 21 to 72 with either cranberry juice and placebo tablets, placebo juice and cranberry tablets or placebo juice and placebo tablets. Tablets were taken twice daily and juice was consumed three times per day for one year. The study concluded that both cranberry juices and cranberry tablets significantly decreased the number of patients experiencing at least one UTI per year and, on average, the women supplementing with cranberry products experienced half the number of UTIs compared to those taking placebos.

Researchers at Helios Integrated Medicine in Boulder, Colo., and Phenolics, LLC (a nutraceutical company) in El Granada, Calif., explain why: Compounds in cranberries can prevent bacteria from adhering to the cell walls of the urinary tract, thus preventing urinary tract infections.

Experts concur that while it is necessary to collect more evidence, determine optimal dosage and continue comparing the effects of cranberry juices and other cranberry products, cranberries and cranberry supplements high in phenolics (elements believed to have antioxidant properties) may benefit women who are subject to UTIs.

So if find yourself craving seconds this holiday season… you may want to forgo the figgy pudding and reach for the cranberries.