CRANBERRY

A glass of cranberry juice is all one needs, to walk down the road to good health Cranberry name is derived from "craneberry", by European settlers in America. They felt the expanding flower, stem, calyx, and petals resembled the neck, head, and beak of a crane. In North America, Native Americans used cranberries as food. They used it as pemmican, wound medicine and dye. Algonquian people introduced it to starving English settlers in Massachusetts; who incorporated it into Thanksgiving feast. In 1550, James White Norwood referred Red Indians using cranberries. In 1816 American Revolutionary, Henry Hall harvested cranberries in Cape-cod. In 1820’s cranberries were exported to Europe. In 1667, New Englanders sent King Charles, cranberries with other gifts. Cranberries are evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines. They are cultivated by spreading vines on sand bed. They are harvested in cooler regions of northern hemisphere. There are four species of cranberry, available in colours red and green. The taste is quite sharp; they are sour and bitter. About 95% of cranberries are processed into products such as juice, sauce, and sweetened dried cranberries. The remaining is sold fresh. Usually cranberries are cooked into a compote or jelly. Cranberry wine is made in some regions of the United States and Canada. Raw cranberries have Vitamin C, dietary fiber and minerals, manganese and micronutrients. It may have anti-aging effect, but this has not been proved yet. One study found it lowers glucose levels in type 2 diabetes. Cranberry juice consumption (300 ml per day) protects bacterial infections in the urinary system, bladder, urethra and kidney. It increases anti-oxidant capacity and decreases oxidized low-density lipoprotein. Cranberry juice acts as a supplement food. Quinic acid, in this fruit, is not broken down by the body and is thus excreted. This process acidifies the urine enough to prevent the aggregation of calcium to form stones. It does not lower the LDL cholesterol, but increase the HDL levels. The ‘good’ cholesterol and improve the functioning of blood vessels, thus reduces chance of heart attack. Patients suffering from atherosclerosis can improve their health by including cranberries or cranberry juice in their diet. Cranberry is not grown in India but a fruit of almost all similar qualities excluding the shape, called karaunda (Hindi), Karamarda (Sanskrit) is available. www.breezerindia.com