ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

The health benefits of drinking cranberry juice everyday

Updated on June 20, 2013

Cranberry juice is a tasty drink with many health benefits for all ages. It contains many valuable nutrients that manifest their important functions in our body. A glass or two a day is a positive step toward a health lifestyle. Cranberry juice is highly effective in the treatment of heart disease, cancer, urinary tract, bladder and kidney infections. Additionally, a healthy dose of dietary fiber, antioxidants and phytochemical nutrients help to protect you against aging and unhealthy gastrointestinal conditions. These benefits will be discussed in more details here

Functions in cardiovascular diseases

Research has shown that cranberries offer a lot of heart-healthy benefits. Cranberries are known to help lower your total cholesterol levels, including your LDL, increase your blood flow, reduce your risk of developing heart disease or stroke. In one study, researchers found that dringking three glasses of cranberry juice per day raised good cholesterol 10%, which in turn decreased their risk of heart disease by 40%.

Cranberry juice inhibits low density lipoprotein oxidation, thus offering a natural defense against atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis results from the accumulation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) in arteries which lead to restricted blood flow. In the advance stages of the disease blood flow may decrease severely or cease completely resulting in angina (chest pain), a thrombosis (blood clot) and/or myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Providing antioxidants

Research results indicated that there would be compelling evidence that cranberry can help protect the brain from neurological damage. The antioxidant benefits were significant with just one or two glasses a day. Antioxidants are compounds that are naturally manufactured by the body and/or are ingested from food and drinks. Antioxidants, in small amounts, will slow or prevent the oxidation process through their ability to stabilize free radicals by donating an electron, and at the same time, do not become free radicals themselves. Flavonoids and polyphenols are powerful antioxidants found in cranberries and other fruits that fall under the berry family. These antioxidants in cranberry juice can help prevent or fix the damage to your cells and lower your risk for cancer or infection and improve your immune system functions. Under some stressful conditions, the human body's ability to produce antioxidants can become severely impaired. Cranberries or cranberry juice can serve as a good source of supplemental antioxidants and protect our bodies from harmful molecules we are exposed to every day of our lives

Urinary and Respiratory Infections

Urinary tract infections are usually caused by a strain of E coli bacteria. Some of the compounds in cranberry juice block the bacteria from sticking to the cells in the body, so that the body can more easily flush the bacteria out.

Study results in 2002 suggest that cranberry juice may inhibit a type of bacteria that is a common cause of ear and respiratory infections in children. In this study, the scientists found that cranberry juice can inhibit certain strains of Haemophilus influenzae, a type of bacteria found in the nose and throat of 75% of healthy children and adults. The bacteria can also cause infections, and may be responsible for up to 40% of bacterially-derived middle ear infections. It was found that the juice could prevent certain strains of the bacteria from sticking to red blood cells or mouth cells, which allow the bacteria to linger in the body. It seemed that the juice inhibited the bacteria's pili, the hair-like structures that allow them to adhere to surfaces.

Proanthocyanidins (PACs), a compound contained in many fruits including cranberries, grapes, apples, tea, and chocolate, up to now only the PACs of cranberries and blueberries, have been shown to exhibit this effect to block bacteria from sticking.

Cranberries Can Prevent Certain Types of Cancer

Incorporating cranberries into your diet can prevent certain kind of cancers. The reason can also be explained by antioxidant functions. Anti-aging benefits are another reason why the cranberry juice diet deserves some merit.

Cranberries Can Prevent Gum Disease and Cavities

Drinking cranberry juice can prevent gum disease and cavities. Rich with Vitamin C, the high amount of acid and other beneficial components, cranberry juice can help break down and prevent the formation of kidney stones. The adhesion of the different types of bacteria that cause periodontal gum disease has been shown to be inhibited by cranberry juice consumption.

Cranberries Can Help Prevent and Cure Stomach Conditions

The same type of bacteria is responsible for stomach ulcer and cancer and certain gastrointestinal conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome. Drinking cranberry juice can protect yourself against developing any of these conditions and many believe that you can even "cure" ulcers or symptoms experienced due to stomach conditions.

In conclusion, cranberry juice has many health benefits, drink one to three cups of cranberry juice every day can significantly improve your health condition.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)