Cranberries For Health
Elena Elisseeva/iStockphotos.
Cranberries are high in vitamin C and fiber. Filled with lots of other great nutrients, and especially high in antioxidants, cranberries also fight free radicals.
These tart berries have been found to contain 25 to 36% anthocyanosides, so you'll find most supplements containing about 25% of these cyanide compounds as well as quercetin, tannins and health promoting alkaloids.
Cranberries are useful in treating heart disease, lowering cholesterol, and in fighting bladder and yeast infections. They are also useful for preventing plaque build up on teeth and gum disease. Cranberry has proven to be helpful for vision health, preventing retinopathy, in rheumatoid arthritis, emphysema, reducing inflammation, fighting breast cancer, prostate cancer and slowing the growth of some tumors.
These small, round, red fruits are edible, but tart. They can be dried and eaten like raisins, used to make cranberry juice, or cooked to make jelly. Cranberry is a member of the same family as bilberry and blueberry.
Used for a very long time by North American Indians, cranberries were made into a hardy dish called pemmican. Combining dried deer meat, cranberries and melted fat, creating one of the first convenience foods (today you can get a cranberry-buffalo based food bar called Tanka Bar, made on the Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation). The juice was used for dye and cranberry poultices were used to draw poison away from wounds.
Cranberry leaves can also be made into a tea that helps prevent infection.
Cranberry Elixir
You can make your own cranberry elixir by mixing 1 cup water with 1/8 cup unsweetened cranberry juice. Drink this elixir three times per day for one week every three months for the best results as a blood cleanser and health promoting liquid. The juice may also help improve your ability to absorb the very important vitamin B12 that is at risk as you age and also if you are using any stomach acid reducing medications.
Cranberries blend well with other foods like oranges, apples and pears to make tasty treats. They also blend well with wild rice and are a great addition to salad greens. With a glycemic load of two they can be used with many food choices.
Holiday Cranberry Tea
Put 1 package of fresh cranberries into a pot with 3 quarts of water and bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add 2 cups sugar, the juice of two oranges and two lemons, 12 whole cloves and 2 cinnamon sticks. Steep 1 hour or longer.
Enjoy this tea as is or use as a base for punch by adding plain club soda, cider or…
Gayle Eversole, DHom, PhD, MH, NP, ND, is a natural health educator and advocate. Celebrating 50+ years blending science and the natural healing arts. Sign up for her herbalYoda newsletter at: http://www.leaflady.org/ and for more cranberry recipes send an e-mail .
This article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not take the place of a consultation with a qualified health care professional. Always consult a physician or other qualified health care professional before taking any herbs or applying any therapies. The reader must assume full responsibility for verifying any information or therapies with a qualified physician or health care professional.
http://www.greenmuze.com/blogs/natural-notes/1789-cranberries-for-health-.html
