Bring on the Cranberries This Thanksgiving: Fruit Has Remarkable Health Benefits

Bring on the cranberries this Thanksgiving. It turns out these tiny berries have remarkable nutrition and health benefits. Now, a new review has provided the reason behind these benefits, revealing that cranberries provide unique bioactive compounds that may help reduce the incidence of certain infections, improve hearth health and temper imflammation.

"Hundreds of studies show that the bioactive compounds found in cranberries improve health," said Jeffrey Blumberg, one of the researchers, in a news release. "For example, the polyphenols found in cranberries have been shown to promote a health urinary tract and exert protective benefits for cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions."

In this particular review, the researchers included more than 150 published research studies. This created the most thorough and up-to-date review of cranberry nutrition in human health research to date. So what makes this red berry so special? It's due to the A-type proanthocyanidins, a polyphenol from the flavanol family.

In contrast to the B-type proanthocyanidins present in most other types of berries and fruit, the A-type proanthocyanidins appear to provide the anti-adhesion benefits that help protect against urinary tract infections. This condition affects more than 15 million U.S. women each year.

That's not all the cranberry is good for, though. The researchers also cited data that showed that cranberries may improve cardiovascular health. How? They can improve blood cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure, inflammation and oxidative stress. In addition, cranberries can support endothelial function and reduce arterial stiffness.

"While we look forward to more research to better understand how cranberries affect our well-being and longevity, we know that including cranberries and cranberry products in a healthy diet is a great way to increase fruit intake," said Blumberg in a news release.

Although cranberry products often have sugar added to them, even then they usually have a comparable amount of sugar to other unsweetened fruit juices and dried food products. So when you wonder what sort of meal to dish out for Thanksgiving, reach for the cranberries; they're good for you and can probably improve your health over time.

The findings are published in the journal Advances in Nutrition.