What are cranberries?
Cranberries belong to the blueberry family. In our diet we usually find the fruit in the form of jams, juices, dried fruits, sweets, or in baked goods.
How do cranberries work?
Cranberries contain many phenolic compounds, volatile plant substances, which are often carriers of flavors and aromas. Compounds that are of great importance for medicine and the paint industry. These include the phenolic acid ellagic acid, which has an anticarcinogenic, antimicrobial and antioxidant effect, and the red plant dyes flavonoid quercetin and proanthocyanidins, which also have strong antioxidant effects.
Cranberries have an antibacterial effect.
An Israeli study also found that these proanthocyanidins hinder the docking of bacteria to the target tissue and thus inhibit the prerequisite for a later infection at an early stage.
How do cranberries help us?
As already mentioned, the proanthocyanidins contained in cranberries prevent bacteria from attaching to cell tissue, which is a prerequisite for later infection.
Bacteria that have a strong infectious power, such as uropathogenic Escherichia coli, the most common cause of urinary tract infections worldwide, have developed special abilities to bypass the body’s own defence system. The “anti-adhesive” effect of the cranberry ingredients is based on a direct obstruction of the formation of the docking sites on the bacterium.
Responsible for this effect are special bioactive substances which differ from similar compounds in other plant extracts and are ultimately responsible for the specific antibacterial properties of cranberry. This special mix of cranberry polyphenols also appears to play a role in maintaining prostate health.
20% lower risk of urinary tract infections.
A large number of clinical studies have already shown that there is a strong correlation between the reduced occurrence of urinary tract infections and adequate intake of cranberry products. Researchers at the Scottish University of Stirling evaluated a total of 24 of these studies and were able to confirm the positive effect of cranberry juice consumption in women with urinary tract infections.
This applies to both daily drinking of juice and dry cranberry concentrate. In a Canadian study, 150 sexually active women aged 21 to 72 years consumed cranberry juice and dry concentrate daily. A placebo was administered to the comparison group. With both cranberry juice and dry concentrate a strong reduction of urinary tract infections of approx. 20 % could be observed compared to the placebo group.
The adhesion of bacteria to the mucous membrane cells of the small intestine and stomach can also be inhibited or improved by taking cranberry products.
Caries and periodontal diseases
Possibly a little surprising, but the use of cranberry products has also had a positive effect on caries and paradontosis.
This was the result of two studies carried out by a group of researchers from the Faculty of Dentistry at the Université Laval in Quebec, Canada. According to their research, the adhesion of the various bacteria to teeth and gums could be suppressed with a concentrate of cranberry juice. Subsequently, the infection, which leads to inflammatory reactions in gum tissue, was reduced.
