Originally published September 14 2005
Cranberries protect the body against harmful bacteria
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Rutgers University researchers found that cranberry is composed of proanthocyanidins, or PACs, that protect the body from bacteria starting two hours after consumption and lasting up to 10 hours.
New data published in the current issue of Phytochemistry shows that cranberry juice cocktail has a unique "anti-adhesion" mechanism that helps protect the body from harmful bacteria, as compared to grape and apple juice, green tea or dark chocolate.
The study, led by a Rutgers University researcher, is the first to find that the cranberry's anti-adhesion benefits come from the unique structure of its natural compounds called proanthocyanidins, or PACs.
Cranberry's PACs contain a unique A-type structure, while the other foods tested contain only the more-common B-type PACs.
Of all the foods tested, only cranberry juice cocktail showed anti-adhesion activity following consumption of a single serving.
They discovered that the A-type PACs in cranberry exhibited anti-adhesion activity while the B-type PACs in the other foods showed minimal to no activity.
This is the first study to compare the anti-adhesion activity of foods rich in B-type PACs with cranberry's A-type PACs.
It is the A-type structure of cranberry PACs that may be important in protecting against harmful bacteria in the urinary tract," said Amy Howell, lead author of the report and a research scientist at Rutgers University.
Howell's new study reinforces earlier research that found the anti-adhesion benefits of a glass of cranberry juice cocktail starts within two hours of consumption and can last for up to ten hours.
This suggests that consuming one serving of cranberry juice cocktail in the morning and one in the evening helps keep bacteria at bay all day, providing the greatest protection against UTIs.
Studies show that cranberry's anti-adhesion properties can prevent harmful bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract, helping to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Drinking cranberry juice cocktail may reduce the need for antibiotics by reducing the risk of the initial infection.
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