Thursday, November 17, 2011

Cranberry Health Benefits

Cranberry is a small berry that grown in swampy areas of United States and in other parts of the world. Cranberry is a member of the same family of species as bilberry and blueberry, and raspberries. Cranberries are not only delicious to eat, but they are also provides many health benefits.

The active ingredients in cranberry include chemical compounds called proanthocyanidins. Proanthocyanidins are powerful antioxidants that appear to be able to reduce bacterial adherence to epithelial cells of the bladder. The main benefit of this anti-oxidant is that bacteria have less likelihood of grouping together to cause bladder infections, and urinary track infections.

Some other health benefits of cranberry are that it reduces the risk of heart diseases. Many health professionals are of the opinion that cranberry is rich in quinic acid that prevents the development of kidney stones.

Cranberry can be taken as a juice, whole berry, or from an extract. To obtain a maximum health benefits of cranberry then have it in the form of unsweetened.

More: 7 health benefits of cranberries