Cranberries: health benefits and harms

Contents

The history of the appearance of cranberries in nutrition
The composition and calorie content of cranberries
The benefits of cranberries
Harm cranberries
The use of cranberries in medicine
The use of cranberries in cooking
- Upside down cranberry pie
- Delicate cranberry cream
How to choose and store cranberries
Popular questions and answers

In late summer and early autumn, bright red cranberries appear on the markets. It contains many vitamins and nutrients, but is there any harm? Let’s figure it out

Perennial creeping shrubs cover raised bogs, coniferous forests, swampy shores of lakes and lowlands of the forest-tundra with a green carpet, they are grown in summer cottages and vegetable gardens. All types of cranberries are edible, used in cooking and medicine. Red spherical berries up to 16 mm in diameter have a pleasant sour taste. Read about the health benefits and dangers of cranberries in the article ” Healthy Food Near Me”.

The history of the appearance of cranberries in nutrition

In Our Country and other countries of the Northern Hemisphere, cranberries have been harvested for a long time. It is known from ancient books that our ancestors ate these berries 1000 years ago.

Industrial cultivation began in 1816. Henry Hall, an American from Massachusetts, became a pioneer in the cultivation of cranberries. An amateur gardener noticed that bushes that were sprinkled with sand from neighboring dunes bore better fruit.

The first industrial plantations appeared in the USA in 1833, and in Our Country at the end of the XNUMXth century. In our country, the cultivation of cranberries was carried out by the scientific gardener Eduard Regel, who created a plantation of large-fruited berries in the Botanical Garden of St. Petersburg.

At the beginning of the 1960th century, experimental work was interrupted. Interest in this berry revived only in the 1970s and XNUMXs. Sour berries began to be grown on an industrial scale in Our Country, Lithuania, Latvia and Belarus. Now seven varieties of marsh cranberries are bred in different regions of Our Country, and in the Kostroma region there is a plantation of large-fruited cranberries.

The composition and calorie content of cranberries

Although berries are 87% water, they are also rich in beneficial trace elements – calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, molybdenum and copper. Pectins, flavonoids, betaine, phenolic acids, anthocyanins, leucoanthocyanins and catechins were found in cranberries (1). Ascorbic acid gives the sour taste to the berries – it contains 13,3 mg per 100 g.

“Cranberries also contain high amounts of vitamin C, as well as B vitamins, vitamins A, K and E,” says Olga Sharapova, Honored Doctor of Our Country, Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences.

Caloric content for 100 grams	46 kcal
Proteins	0,39 g
Fats	0,13 g
Carbohydrates	12,2 g

The benefits of cranberries

These red berries are high in dietary fiber, so they improve digestion. In small quantities, cranberries help with constipation. However, you need to be careful: if you eat too many berries, diarrhea can begin.

– One of the most important properties of cranberries – it strengthens the immune system. Doctors recommend drinking cranberry juice more often during the cold season. This drink perfectly brings down the temperature, and is also a good anti-inflammatory agent, says Olga Sharapova.

Some studies (2), (3) have proven the ability of cranberries to reduce the level of “bad” cholesterol and increase the level of “useful”. This effect is important for minimizing the risks of cardiovascular diseases.

The benefits of cranberries for women

By the amount of vitamin C, cranberries are compared with citrus fruits and garden strawberries. Fresh berries strengthen nail plates, improve appearance and slow down skin aging. Cranberries are actively involved in the breakdown of fats, helping to get rid of extra pounds. During pregnancy, fruit drinks and fresh juices from this berry replace multivitamin complexes. They reduce toxicosis, relieve swelling and “jumps” in pressure.

The benefits of cranberries for men

Thanks to biologically active components and anti-inflammatory properties, cranberries reduce the risk of prostate diseases that appear due to the growth of bacteria. Fresh juice stabilizes the hormonal background, so it is useful for increasing potency.

The benefits of cranberries for children

Immunity in babies is not as strong as in adults. Cranberries help during children’s colds. Drinking from northern berries increases sweating, relieves fever and has an antitussive effect. Vitamins contribute to active physical growth. If there is no allergy, berries can be introduced into the child’s diet from 6 months.

Harm cranberries

Although northern berries are called a natural antibiotic, not everyone can eat them regularly.

“Like any berry, cranberries can harm our body,” explains Olga Sharapova. – For example, in the case of allergies. Or if a person has an individual intolerance. In addition, overeating this berry can aggravate the course of urolithiasis if a person suffers from it. Or even contribute to its development. Therefore, it is recommended to eat this berry in moderation.

It is important to remember that cranberries are contraindicated in exacerbation of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as in inflammatory processes in the liver and gallbladder. It should be used with caution in people with diabetes.

In folk medicine, cranberry juice is believed to help with cystitis. However, recent studies (4) show that this is not the case, and relying on the healing power of the drink bypassing drug treatment is not worth it.

The use of cranberries in medicine

In official medicine, cranberries are used as an additional medicine. Often it is part of dietary supplements. Useful substances contained in berries enhance the effect of medicines. When used properly, cranberries can help reduce the dosage of pills and reduce unwanted side effects from medications.

The use of cranberries in cooking

Fruit drinks, juices, preserves, jams and sauces for meat dishes are prepared from berries. Cranberries are used as a filling for pastries, added to aspics and alcohol tinctures are made.

Upside down cranberry pie

A simple homemade dessert that is ready in 30-40 minutes

Cranberries	1,75 glasses
Milk	0,5 glasses
Butter	8 Art. spoons
Sugar	1 glass
Egg	1 piece.
Flour	1,25 glasses
Ground cinnamon	0,5 tsp
Ground allspice	0,25 tsp
Baking powder	1,5 tsp
Vanilla extract	1 tsp
Salt	0,25 tsp

We heat the oven to 180 degrees. While it is heating, grease a baking dish with butter. Mix 0,5 cups of sugar with cinnamon and allspice. Pour the mixture into the bottom of the mold, level it, put the cranberries on top of it.

Let’s prepare the dough for the pie. Beat butter with a mixer and half a glass of sugar until light, airy mass. Then add the egg and vanilla to the mixture and beat again until smooth. Separately, mix flour, baking powder, salt and add them to the sweet egg mass. Let’s put some milk in there.

Put the dough on the cranberries and put in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Let’s check the readiness with a toothpick – it should come out of the text without sticking. Let the finished cake cool for 20 minutes, and then turn up the cranberries. The pie can be served with whipped cream.

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Delicate cranberry cream

Light Scandinavian dessert will appeal to children and adults

Cranberries	0,5 kg
Powdered sugar	150 g
Egg whites	2 piece.

Wash and dry the cranberries, puree them with a blender. Pass the mass through a sieve to get rid of the skin and seeds. Beat the resulting puree until the volume increases, mixing with powdered sugar and fresh egg whites. Serve the finished cream immediately – in a glass with a spoon.

How to choose and store cranberries

Cranberries are harvested twice a year. The first time in September, before the onset of cold weather. In early autumn, not quite ripe berries are taken. The main thing is that they are whole, then the cranberries can be stored for a long time. The second time the berries are harvested in late autumn – after the first frost they become much sweeter. It is at this time that fresh berries appear on the shelves of the markets. Choose bright berries without traces of mechanical “injuries”: blackness, dents.

The easiest way to preserve cranberries is to sort, wash, dry and store in a cool, dark place. In this form, the berries do not deteriorate for up to three months.

To save vitamins for a long time, cranberries can be frozen. To do this, the berries are washed, dried, then leveled on a tray in one layer and cooled for two hours. Frozen berries are transferred to paper bags and put in the freezer.

Cranberries can be soaked, but keep in mind that they absorb water well and become more watery and tasteless.

It is also convenient to dry the berries. With this method of harvesting cranberries will take up a minimum of space.

You can grind the berries with sugar, making a “cold jam”. Or classic jam in the proportion of 1 kg of berries per 1,5 kg of sugar. Cranberries don’t take long to cook. After boiling, 5-7 minutes are enough, and then the jam is laid out in sterilized jars and twisted hot.