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Cranberries Are Healthy, But You Need to Know the Full Story

If you were to believe the ads of the world’s leading supplier of cranberry products, Ocean Spray, you would think cranberry farming is clean, natural, and safe. But most of it isn’t. For one, cranberries aren’t easy to grow. Cranberry farmers often use a variety of toxic chemicals to keep their production rates high, such as chlorothalonil, carbaryl, and pronamide. And most farmers believe chemicals are necessary for growing cranberries. But is this true? Is using chemicals the only way to grow cranberries?

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 Cranberries: A Fine, Finicky Fruit

Only 5 percent of the berries go to the market fresh. Most are frozen whole, canned, or bottled as juice. Most people buy more cranberry sauce, juice, and even cranberry health supplements than fresh cranberries. It was not always this way. For centuries, wild-growing cranberries were harvested by the many nations of the Algonquian people who continue to inhabit all of New England and much of the Midwest and Eastern Canada. They call the berry sassamenesh, and harness its power as a superfood.

Articles of Interest

Do Cranberries Really Help Ward Off UTIs? The Verdict Is In

Every woman knows about cranberries' so-called UTI-zapping properties. But do they really work? Researchers put them to the test...

A Brief History of Cranberries

Here are some great moments in the history of this superfood...

Afternoon Snack: They're Seasonal and So Good for You--Cranberries!

Studies show that women who drink cranberry juice are less likely to develop urinary tract infections. At the Experimental Biology conference in 2002 a study showed that 8-oz of cranberry juice cocktail prevented E. Coli from adhering to the wall of the bladder.

American cranberries and health benefits - an evolving story of 25 years

Cranberries contain various types of bioactive components. Scientists have been studying cranberries' beneficial effects on urinary tract health since the 20th century. In the 21st century, the protection provided by cranberry phytochemicals against cancer and vascular diseases has drawn more attention from researchers. Anthocyanins, procyanidins, and flavonols in cranberries were all documented to have potential effects on cancer prevention. The cardiometabolic effects of cranberries have been investigated in several clinical trials.

Are Cranberries a Better Way to Long Life?

Caveat: The research hasn't been proven in human subjects.

Are cranberries the winter superfood we’ve been looking for?

Cranberry juice is widely claimed to be useful for managing UTIs, the most common condition seen by GPs in the UK.While many of us might question this popular theory, Dr Elisabeth Hodson from the Centre for Kidney Research at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney, says there is evidence to back it up. Dr Hodson recently co-authored a Cochrane Review (a rigorous type of research analysis that’s recognised as the highest standard in evidence-based healthcare) into cranberries and UTIs. She found good evidence that cranberry juice, tablets or capsules can help prevent UTIs in women who suffer the condition repeatedly, as well as in children (although they didn’t appear to be effective for pregnant women or the elderly). “The general consensus is that cranberry is not effective in treating a UTI, but is valuable in preventing it in certain groups of people,” Dr Hodson says.

Bitter Berries: The Historic Battle for Cranberry Power Bars

The berry that so disappointed Thoreau is—like the Concord grape and the blueberry—a native American fruit. Though it has relatives abroad—among them Vaccinium oxycoccos, the European cranberry, and Vaccinium vitis-idaea, the lingonberry—the American cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon, is by far the biggest and most impressive of the bunch. Known to the Wampanoag of Massachusetts as ibimi-bitter berries, cranberries were used as food and medicine by the native tribes of what is now the northern United States and Canada.

Bow Down To The Medicinal Power Of Cranberries

If you've ever bitten into a raw cranberry, you know it's as bitter as a lime. Native Americans embraced that acidity to fight infection, and pilgrims believed there was something in the red skin of cranberries that fought scurvy. Scientists today are investigating dozens of health-promoting compounds found in cranberries, and they're finding that there's a lot of truth to the lore of centuries past.

Cranberries and Their Bioactive Constituents in Human Health

Recent observational and clinical studies have raised interest in the potential health effects of cranberry consumption, an association that appears to be due to the phytochemical content of this fruit. The profile of cranberry bioactives is distinct from that of other berry fruit, being rich in A-type proanthocyanidins (PACs) in contrast to the B-type PACs present in most other fruit.

Cranberries, a Thanksgiving Staple, Were a Native American Superfood

Every schoolchild learns that the Pilgrims couldn't have survived life in the New World without the help of the Indians. The tribes taught them which crops to plant. They introduced them to corn and other nutritional mainstays. One of these, the American cranberry, is still part of the classic Thanksgiving feast. (See more photos of cranberries.) What you probably don't know, though, is that the cranberry was a key ingredient in the original energy bar, 400 years before anyone knew what a superfood was.

Cranberry Juice For Urinary Tract Infections? It Really Can Help

Native Americans and Pilgrims were onto something when they turned to cranberries as an infection fighter. American settlers believed the bitter food could stave off scurvy. But there's more than just Vitamin C in this indigenous berry.

Everything You Need to Know About Cranberries

Cranberries are native to North America! Long before Europeans began to grow and process cranberries, the berry was a fruit staple among Indigenous nations such as the Algonquin, Chippewa, and Cree. National Geographic writer Sarah Whitman-Salkin writes that Indigenous people had many uses for cranberries. They would eat the berry as a fresh fruit, dried fruit, or use the leaves for tea. The Cree nation also used cranberries to make dye for clothing. The Iroquois and Chippewa found medical uses for the superfood!

No need to overload your cranberry sauce with sugar this holiday season − a food scientist explains how to cook with fewer added sweeteners

This holiday season you can easily cut the amount of sugar added to your cranberry dishes and get the health benefits without a blood glucose spike.

The Cranberry as Food, Health Food & Superfood: Challenging or Maintaining Hegemonic Nutrition?

In this article, Jessica Loyer provides a closer look at the history of America’s original super berry, revealing striking parallels with today’s search for the next superfood and offers insights into the foundation of this trend.

The Cure for UTIs? It’s Not Cranberries

There are several theories about why cranberries have come to be seen as having some effect on UTIs. It is certainly one power-packed little berry. Researchers at Rutgers found that cranberries contain proanthocyanidins, a condensed substance which seems to interfere with the adherence of UTI-causing E. coli bacteria to the lining of the urinary tract.

There’s Some Truth to the Folklore of Cranberry Juice and UTIs

Research has yet to confirm that it has a significant impact on reducing UTIs, but compounds from cranberries inhibit the spread of UTI-causing bacteria

Why We Give Thanks For The Health Benefits Of Cranberries

Indeed, cranberries and other berries are full of health-promoting antioxidants. Blueberries, for example, have been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels. And a meta-analysis published last year found that drinking cranberry juice or eating other cranberry products really can help women fight urinary tract infections.