Cranberries: Is It Worth Including in Your Diet?

Listening to the song zombie while reading this? No, we're not talking about the band that made that song famous. We're talking about the red, rounded, and cutesy little fruit that grows on an evergreen shrub. This fruit usually gets in touch with you during thanksgiving in the form of pie. This fruit needs to enter the limelight of berries together with strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry.

(Photo: Alexey Hulsov)

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Brief background, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), cranberry fruits and leaves are historically used for bladder, stomach, and liver disorders, alongside use for wounds and other similar conditions. Regarding the safety of consumers, they added that cranberry products are thought to be safe. However, they warned that if consumed in enormous amounts, they can cause upset stomach and diarrhea, which is more common in children.

Knowing that people from ages ago uses this fruit for so many things, you might already be considering incorporating it into your diet. Well, let me convince you more. Here are some of the health benefits cranberries have, making it worth a spot on your plate.

Antioxidant-rich

According to Medical News Today, cranberries are a good source of vitamins and antioxidants that fight free radicals formed in your body and the environment. They added that these antioxidants could prevent or slow down the damage of cells caused by the free radicals; that is why they are sometimes called free-radical scavengers.

Managing Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

The Healthy mentioned that proanthocyanins are the reason why cranberries have a good reputation when fighting against UTI. In a study mentioned by The Healthy, results show that cranberry products evidently diminished the incidence of Urinary Tract Infection. NCCIH mentioned the uncertainties about cranberry's efficacy because some of the research has been of high quality.

Vitamins and Minerals

According to Healthline, cranberries are rich in nutrients that will benefit the body. They mentioned that cranberries are rich in vitamin C, manganese, vitamin E, vitamin K1 vital for blood clotting, and copper.

Gut Health

The Healthy said that the proanthocyanins present in cranberries could prevent the bacteria Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) from sticking to the stomach lining. According to Mayo Clinic, this bacteria is commonly the cause of peptic ulcers. IFT mentioned a study that shows that adding cranberries to a controlled diet diminished the rise in secondary gut bile acids connected to colon cancer and gastrointestinal cancer. They added that cranberries also lessened the drop in beneficial short-chain fatty acids, thought to maintain healthy GI cells.

Heart Health

According to The Healthy, some studies found that cranberry juices and supplements can lower LDL cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and other heart disease risk factors. American Heart Association added that the cranberries' vitamins and minerals promote good heart health alongside boosting the body's digestive health and antioxidant system and improving blood pressure.

Incorporating cranberries into your diet can be very beneficial. Even though it is a little more bitter than blueberries and other berries, you should not ignore what it can do for your health.

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