It’s cranberry season in the USA, and you’ve probably noticed in the stores that there are bags of fresh cranberries available. The cranberry doesn’t get enough respect. Cranberries are our own North American superfood berry.
If they grew in the Amazon or some other exotic location, they would be marketed as a superfood berry. But instead, they’re just in the refrigerated produce section in cheap plastic bags, and they look rather normal. They’re loaded with antioxidants like proanthocyanidins, flavanols, anthocyanins, and they’ve been studied for all kinds of health benefits from urinary tract health to heart function.
So in this article, I’ll point out some of the science behind the benefits, and then I’ll share some of our favorite cranberry recipes. Hopefully, you’ll be inspired to buy and eat more cranberries.
Cranberries: Your Ally Against Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
One of the most researched health benefits of cranberries has been their role in UTI prevention. The proanthocyanidins in cranberries seem to act like a shield that prevents E. coli from sticking to the walls of the urinary tract.
There was a comprehensive Cochrane review of 50 randomized controlled trials with over 8,000 participants that found cranberry products reduced risk of symptomatic, culture-verified UTIs. It had a powerful effect in certain groups of people:
- 26% risk reduction in women with recurrent UTIs
- 54% reduction in children
- 53% reduction in people after medical interventions that made them susceptible to UTIs.
Cranberries were more effective than probiotics in three trials that examined this question, and there was no difference in results between cranberries and antibiotics in the four studies that directly compared them. All these benefits with hardly any side effects. After all, it’s just a berry.
Boosting Heart Health: From Blood Pressure to Vascular Function
But cranberries do a lot more than just help with UTIs. They’re great for your heart, too. Cranberries are great for the heart in the same way that pomegranates are great for the heart. When people took 9 g of freeze-dried whole cranberry powder daily, the researchers measured an improvement in endothelial cell function (which make up the walls of arteries, related to being able for arteries being able to relax and be flexible, which results in lower blood pressure).
A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials showed that cranberry supplementation significantly lowered systolic blood pressure and body mass index. The decrease in systolic blood pressure was most noticeable in studies with people over the age of 50. It also raised HDL cholesterol a little bit In younger adults.
Cranberries for Gut Health and Beyond
Using the whole berry, not just cranberry juice, could also help your gut microbiome. There is good fiber in those berries. Helping your gut microbiome also benefits various aspects, including digestion, immunity, and brain health.
The proanthocyanins that help prevent UTIs also disrupt harmful bacteria, such as H. pylori, which can make their home in your gut. The proanthocyanins also promote the growth of beneficial bacteria. This helps strengthen the gut barrier, resulting in fewer leaky gut issues, reduced food sensitivities and allergies, and improved overall gut health.
Cranberries act somewhat like a prebiotic boost, like most other fruit and vegetable fiber. They prevent the nasty bugs from growing, and they help the good bugs grow faster.
Recipe Ideas and Recommendations
So with all these benefits (from preventing UTIs, improved cardiovascular health, and improved gut health), they’re a win-win situation for you. But they’re really tart, so you have to figure out how to use them in recipes. No one is going to eat very many raw cranberries by themselves. They aren’t like raspberries or blueberries in that regard. They are usually combined with sweet fruits, but some recipes also include added honey or sweetener, because they are really tart.
Pro Tip Here: When you need one bag, buy two. Use one bag fresh, then put the other one in the freezer. They keep well just like that so you can put them in recipes later. We’ve added them to a cranberry relish in their frozen state and they blend up just fine, just as well as if they were fresh.
Ready to get more cranberries onto your plate? You can search our database at myhdiet.com for recipes that include cranberries. Check out these recipes:
- Cranberry relish (with cranberries, tangerines and pecans)
- A raw cranberry sauce (with fresh cranberries, honey, almonds, celery, Granny Smith apple, and a squeeze of lemon juice)
- Apple cranberry dessert (an uncooked apple/cranberry crisp)
- A raw holiday cranberry sauce (cranberries, apples, pears, orange, pecans, celery, raisins, honey, and spices)
- Holiday cranapple punch (cranberries, apples, pears, oranges, all juiced together)
It seems that everyone has their favorite kind of cranberry relish, and our family has one too. Here’s what we do:
Simple Cranberry Relish, Ingredients
- 1 pound (4C?) fresh or frozen cranberries
- 4 oranges
- 3 apples
- ¼ tsp sodium ascorbate powder (to prevent apples from browning)
Blend in a Vitamix or Blendtec blender. Add the oranges to the blender first, then the cranberries, and finally the apples. Blend until you like the texture. Add stevia extract to taste. Chill before serving. We put clean frozen water bottles into the relish to chill faster.
Wrapping it up.
Cranberries may not look much in the grocery store, but they truly deserve superfood status. So take advantage of their seasonal availability and use them in your holiday recipes for relishes, special cranberry juices, and stock some away for later, too. You can use them in their frozen form for relishes and even cooked dishes.
Enjoy them for the tartness that they add to any chopped/blended fruit salad. Appreciate them for their excellent health benefits. Give God thanks for cranberries.
