Fresh Cranberries Health Benefits: Discover a Great Aid in Weight Loss and Cellulite Reduction
Let's start our discussion about cranberries health benefits by looking first at their help in losing weight.
Fresh cranberries (juiced) are a powerful detoxifier, diuretic and one of the best cellulite remedies.
But cranberries health benefits go way beyond their weight loss value.
Believe it or not, the Romans were the first known society to use fresh cranberries for medicinal purposes. Later, in 1578, the herbalist Henry Lyte thoroughly documented the use of cranberries for gout, rheumatoid pain, scurvy, fever, diarrhea, skin wounds, colds, eczema, and various infections.
Today, Cranberries Health Benefits...
...are widely recognized by alternative medicine for a multitude of complaints. The fresh cranberries juice (unpasteurized) is successfully used in:
stress relief and depression
the prevention of influenza and common colds
kidney and bladder problems
urinary tract infections - especially for flushing out kidney stones
boosting the immune system
various skin conditions: acne, dermatitis, psoriasis, burns and minor wounds
the treatment of gingivitis
And not only that.
The health benefits of these little red berries are widely recognized beyond natural medicine.
Are you worried about cardiovascular problems? Or, are you struggling to lower your cholesterol levels naturally?
Well, cranberries can help your condition.
You may want to know that recently, researchers from the University of Laval and Wisconsin-La Crosse have found that fresh cranberries improve circulation, increases plasma antioxidant levels, reducing the risk of heart disease.
They've also demonstrated that fresh cranberry juice increase the levels of good cholesterol (HDL) in the blood and reduce the oxidation of bad cholesterol (LDL), making it less likely to enter artery walls.
In short, these incredibly valuable berries provide weight loss and general health benefits far beyond essential nutrition.
Cranberries Health Benefits: Home Recipes
Due to the widely recognized health benefits of cranberries (including their help in weight loss), they are commonly available in many forms in the marketplace: fresh, dried, juice concentrates and cocktails, dried powdered capsules, extracts, and herbal teas.
However, the best is to make your own cranberry juice at home with your own juicer. Why? Because only the fresh juice fully preserves cranberries health benefits.
The home made juice has a much higher quality then the commercial variety, which has lost all vitamins through pasteurization, and is loaded with sugar and preservatives.
But if you can find unpasteurized, organic, 100% pure, unsweetened cranberry juice at your local market or health food store - by all means, go for it!
It's very easy to juice fresh cranberries at home with just about any juicer. If the juice is too tart, sweeten it with fresh apple juice at a ratio of 1 part apple juice to 3 parts cranberry juice, as cranberries and apples are a great mix. Or, sweeten the juice with organic maple syrup to enhance the cranberries health benefits.
When you choose fresh cranberries look for bright red, hard, and plump ones; stay away from soft, dull, or wrinkled berries.
You can keep the fresh berries up to two months refrigerated. Or, you can freeze them for up to a year sealed in plastic bags or containers. The dried ones last for over a year in a dry place.
Fresh cranberries health benefits along with their distinctive flavor and bright color, make these little red berries perfect to be used in fruit or green salads, sauces, snacks, and juice blends.
Want to use cranberries for weight loss purposes?
Drink daily 1-2 glasses of fresh, sugar-free, 100% pure cranberry juice, or 3-4 glasses if you dilute it with water in equal parts. You'll be amazed at how much easier you'll drop the pounds.
Cranberries Health Benefits...
...are due to the berries' high content in vitamin A, carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, large quantities of vitamin C and antioxidants (phenols). They also have a high content of minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, sulphate, iron) and organic acids (quinic, malic, benzoic, and citric).
Did you know that cranberries grow only throughout the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere and are only harvested from October through December?
It's true!
Amazingly, there are 150 species of cranberries in the world, but North America produces 98% of the world's cranberries. The most popular variety is the American cranberry, (Vaccinium macrocarpon).
Their high nutritional value and cranberries health benefits were always known to native Americans. They introduced them to the starving English settlers in Massachusetts around 1620. The English then incorporated these berries into the Thanksgiving feast as cranberry sauce, now served traditionally with roast turkey.
As a curiosity, the name cranberry comes from "crane berry": before the flower expands, its stem, calyx, and petals look like the neck, head, and bill of a crane. In north-eastern Canada cranberries are sometimes called moss berry.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you for putting together such a wonderful site! Eye-opening info on the different body types... it really helped me understand how to adjust my meals to lose weight without craving sweets and being hungry all day... or crushing after lunch. I've already lost 12 pounds in the last three weeks and I'm thrilled!! Never ever thought it would be so easy!"
