Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) are the number one utilized herbal medicine for UTIs, a mainstay in American Thanksgiving tradition, excellent antioxidants, and a major commercial crop in the US and Canada—not bad for a hard, sour and bitter berry!
It is pretty cool to see how they are cultivated, as the most efficient harvesting technique involves floating the berries on water in wetlands (or constructed ones).
Since the berries are not good tasting when they are raw, their use is normally in a processed form, such as juices, sauces or extracts. Most Americans know cranberries as the tin can-shaped jelly log that comes out at Thanksgiving and they think Cranberries grow on water due to the commercials picturing their harvest. If you want to see a very funny depiction of the Cranberry jelly-log at Thanksgiving, see the Wiggle Jiggle Cranberry commercial that came out last year. You can also find funny vids inspired by it as a Tik Tok trend by following #JiggleWithUs.
Cranberries were first utilized by the Native Americans, but since the picking time for Cranberries spans only six-weeks, the market was limited until the canned version we know and love came to the scene.
Although the juice is highly sweetened, if you are after health benefits, you might consider finding the unsweetened concentrate to add to soda water or other beverages—it is refreshing and healthy!
Raw Cranberries are a source of polyphenols which have a number of confirmed health benefits, as well as providing about 10% of the Daily Value of Vitamin C, dietary fiber and manganese per 100 g serving.
It is generally assumed the primary active constituents are the proanthocyanidins; however, Cranberry contains a number of other known bioactives, such as quercetin, kaempferol, catechins, quinic, malic and citric acids.
Cranberry extract has been found in several clinical studies to reduce the risk of repeat UTIs. Clinical studies continue to be conducted assessing the potential clinical application of Cranberry for such conditions as cardiovascular disease, catheter-related infections, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, H. pylori, hyperlipidemia, kidney stones, memory, metabolic syndrome, obesity, liver, gut, prostate and joint health.
The mechanism of action for UTIs was once thought to be the acidification of urine, but now thought to be the interference of the proanthocyanidins with urinary wall adhesion by urinary tract pathogens, such as E. coli. A number of other mechanisms of action have been found contributing to health outcomes, such as increasing insulin sensitivity, antifungal and antiviral effects, gastroprotective, metabolic and antiinflammatory activities. Research has also suggested that the various bioactives of Cranberry may act in an additive fashion to prevent carcinogenesis.
#medicinalplants #foodasmedicine #ethnobotany #cranberry #UTI #jigglewithus
Photo by Famartin