There are a lot of different reasons people drink cranberry juice. The first one usually isn’t “it’s the best tasting fruit juice.”
It’s mostly for its health benefits, and now, there’s an all new one.
Heart disease is something you just don’t mess around with.
610,000 Americans die from it every year, making it the leading cause of death in the nation.
A new study has now found that drinking more cranberry juice could actually improve your heart health.
Of course, this study was funded by the Cranberry Institute, meaning that the study could have a bit of a bias. But let’s hear the evidence first.
The study was done on ten healthy men between the ages of 18 and 40. They drank just under two cups of sweetened cranberry juice at different levels of concentration. Then they tested the blood and urine of the participants for changes. They tested at the start of the study, and then at hours one, two, four, six, and eight.
Over the course of the samples, and over 24 hours, it was found that blood flow, arterial stiffness, and blood pressure all improved significantly. This was true of all of the juices, even grocery store cocktails that contained only 25 to 27 percent cranberry juice.
The juice was so effective at improving blood flow, that researchers believe that cranberry juice could help fight atherosclerosis, which is plaque inside the arteries.
The reason for this is that cranberry juice has lots of polyphenols, which are the antioxidants with the most evidence towards improving circulation, kidney function, hormone delivery, and waste filtration.
Of course, this study is very small, but the researchers are hopeful. Study author Dr. Ana Rodriguez-Mateos said, “Our results lay the groundwork to better understand the array of potential vascular and cardiovascular health benefits of cranberry polyphenols. Significant improvements in vascular function from drinking two cups of cranberry juice suggest an important role for cranberries in a heart-healthy diet.”
