Cranberry, often used as a condiment for turkey dishes has got multiple health benefits. A recent study says that cranberries increase the lifespan.
The study was conducted by a group of researchers at the National Institute of Ageing in Baltimore. The findings of the study are based on a test conducted on a group of Drosophila, a kind of fruit fly often used for biological studies. There were two groups of flies, with 100-200 flies in each group kept in separate vials. Both the groups were fed sugar-rich food items with one group given two percent of cranberry extract alongside the sugary diet.
The flies were observed in three stages- health span, transition span and senescence span- resembling to three stages of human life; youth, middle-age and old age. In each stage, the flies were transferred to new vials and the number of flies dying was recorded on each transition.
Flies that were fed the cranberry extract were found to live longer by 25 percent compared to the control group in the health stage. In the next two stages the flies consuming the cranberry extract were found to survive more (by 30 percent) compared to the other group, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Later, on examining the proteins from the head of the dead flies the researchers found the cranberry extract to lower the extent of cellular damage caused by oxidative or environmental stress.
The research will be published in the upcoming February issue of Experimental Gerontology.
Apart from enhancing the life span, cranberries can also be used as a low-calorie snack. A cup of cranberry juice contains only 50 calories and the least amount of sodium, reveals a recent post in the heralddispath. Cranberry rich in anti-oxidants also helps in reducing aging effects and lowering blood pressure.
Cranberry is helpful in urinary tract infections too. Cranberry reduces the infection-causing bacteria. The anti-adhesion quality of cranberries restricts further growth and spread of the bacteria, says Live Science. Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is the second most common infection found among U.S. women, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The health benefits are high when the fruit is consumed alone but due to the tart taste of cranberry it's consumed in the diluted form, which reduce its health benefits to a considerable extent.