Recipes: Cranberry Orange Loaf
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Healing and Health
Cranberries exhibit a level of tannins, in addition to antioxidants. Tannins have anti-clotting properties, and may help reduce infections in the urinary tract and reduce the amount of plaque-causing bacteria in the mouth, thus being a prophylaxis for gingivitis. Studies have found that cranberries reduce the risk of heart disease.
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Cranberries Fight Cancer
Certain compounds in cranberries have been found to be toxic to many cancer tumor cell lines, including:
Lung cancer
Cervical cancer
Prostate cancer
Breast cancer
Leukemia
One study, for instance, published in the June 2004 Journal of Nutrition, found that whole cranberries inhibit prostate, skin, lung and brain cancer cells. Experts believe a compound in the whole cranberry (not just the juice) is responsible for this effect.
Unique "Anti-Adhering" Properties
Whole cranberries can be used in place of other berries in muffins, breads, cereals and more.
Cranberries possess a unique ability to inhibit bacteria, including E. coli, from adhering to the urinary tract. This is why cranberry juice is often recommended to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs). Cranberries also contain hippuric acid, which is antibacterial and helpful for warding off UTIs.
But cranberries' anti-adhering properties are helpful for much more than your urinary tract. A study published in the October 2004 issue of the Journal of Science, Food and Agriculture found that an antiviral compound in cranberries called proanthocyanidin A-1 inhibits the herpes virus from attaching to and penetrating the genitals.
Likewise, a compound in cranberries is known to keep Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria that causes most gastric ulcers, from adhering to the cells of the stomach lining...........
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History and traditional uses
First Nations knew that cranberries could prevent or cure scurvy, a condition which we now understand is caused by Vitamin C deficiency, and taught this medicinal use to settlers. Some First Nations also used it for bladder and kidney problems.
Cranberries have also always been popular as a food. First Nations dried them and mixed them with fat and/or dried meat or fish to make a portable "trail mix". In the early 1800s, settlers in Massachusetts began to grow cranberry commercially, making it one of the first native North American medicinal plants to be cultivated as a cash crop.........
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