By Brent Hauver
Let me introduce you to the cranberry, a mighty but underappreciated fruit. Cranberries and cranberry juice have been used for centuries by Native Americans as a food source and for medicinal purposes including treatment of bladder and kidney disease. When introduced to the Europeans, cranberries were used in the treatment of stomach ailments, blood disorders, liver problems, fevers, and scurvy. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, cranberries were used to treat bladder gravel and “blood toxins”. Cranberries have an illustrious history of being used medicinally. In fact, they are one of the five most commonly used herbal remedies today. Modern science has only now begun to appreciate the potent power of this forceful, little berry.
The greatest advantage of the cranberry is also its dirty, little secret. Cranberries are the super food of the urinary tract. Urinary tract infections account for more than 11 million physician visits annually in the United States. The bacteria responsible for causing urinary tract infections have become increasingly resistant to first-line antibiotics. For decades, Americans have been using cranberry juice to treat urinary tract infections, but controversy always remained as to whether this practice was based on science. Good news: the Native Americans were right. Recent studies found that cranberries are an effective means of preventing urinary tract infections. Studies done twenty years ago theorized that cranberry juice interfered with the attachment of bacteria to cells that line the urinary tract. By not allowing bacteria to bind to the cells, infection is effectively eliminated. Cranberries fight bacterial infections by not even letting them begin! An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Recent work supports this theory. Interference with attachment has been documented with E.coli, a particularly dangerous bacterium. Data suggests that drinking cranberry juice cocktail may offer protection against both sensitive and resistant strains of E coli by a method that is not likely to produce mutated bacteria. In this day when antibiotics are overprescribed and abused, causing development of a resistant strain of E coli in the urinary tract, cranberry juice can be used as a safe alternative to antibiotics and an effective means of reducing the rate of antibiotic resistance. Cranberry products should be offered as an option in the clinical management of frequent urinary tract infections.
Although cranberries have been known to be effective in the treatment of urinary tract infection, the most exciting development in recent studies has been that this super berry is also effective in treating gastric diseases. H. pylori is a commonly occurring bacteria in the stomach and intestines, but is responsible for such illnesses as ulcers and gastric cancer. Consumption of cranberry juice protects against H. pylori in the stomach and intestines just as it protects the urinary tract from E. coli. Score one more for cranberries!
While cranberries have many other useful applications, including antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and prevention of stroke and heart attack, they will always be the superfood of the stomach and urinary tract. Herbal medicine and modern research both agree; using cranberries as prevention and treatment is not only effective but safe with no side effects. So clean it up. A little cranberry juice a day will make a huge and healthy difference.
Brent Hauver is a Holistic Health Researcher who owns and
operates Sage Health and Empowerment Center in Overton, NV.
