The debate over the therapeutic benefits of cranberry Juice has been raging – or at least simmering – for decades. Now, a new study has confirmed cranberries really are good for you – in a number of important ways…
Fresh, red, ripe cranberries: Make them, and cranberry
supplements, a regular part of your diet year-round!
A team at the Université de Laval in Montréal has completed a targeted study of the effects of cranberry extracts on the digestive system. And the news is exciting!
What they did
The researches simply asked forty participants to take a cranberry extract supplement twice a day, morning and evening. The supplements were equal to about 60 grams of fresh cranberries per day. Blood, urine and stool samples were tested at the beginning and after the fourth day of the study period.
What they found
After only the first 4 days taking the supplements, all study subjects shows significant positive responses to the cranberry extract.
According to an abstract of the study’s finsings, “the research team, led by Yves Desjardins, professor at the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, showed that the polyphenols and oligosaccharides present in a cranberry extract boost the genus Bifidobacterium, associated with a reduced risk of diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases.”
“Normally, these bacteria are stimulated by dietary fibre consumption.” pointed out Jacob Lessard-Lord, a postdoctoral fellow on the team. “We observed the same effect with cranberry extract with a dose almost 20 times lower.”
The cranberry extracts also stimulated the Akkermansia muciniphila bacterium, which helps strengthen the intestinal mucosa and reduce gut inflammation.
The western diet causes constant inflammation in the gut, at some level or another, Dejardins explains. “The constant inflammation […] can lead to several chronic diseases, including diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.”
The takeaway
The study’s conclusion is unequivocal: “When included into a balanced diet, cranberry extracts could modify the inflammatory pathway and improve the prognosis of a chronic disease.”
Why the debate?
Prior to this definitive study, debate over the health benefits of cranberries centred on cranberry juice. Much was made of the need to differentiate between cranberry ‘juice’ and cranberry ‘drinks’, which were diluted, and sometimes sweetened. Yet, the folk-medicine claims for cranberries were never conclusively proven.
The Laval study decides the question once and for all.
The only problem with cranberry juice was that it didn’t contain the concentration of active ingredients needed to produce profound results.
My take
I’ve always believed cranberries were special. To discover that they can have such a stunning effect on the gut microbiome, triggering benefits for such a wide range of health scourges, warmed my old Scottish heart.
To think… All along, all we had to do was increase the dose!
And… I’m proud to say, my old family recipe Cranberry Relish – made with raw cranberries, oranges and yuletide spices (see photo, top of page) – is even healthier than I thought!
~ Maggie J.