Cranberry Plus Vitamin C
Super Cranberry Juice Concentrate
| $8.99 | 100 Count Bottle VP140R | Retails for $12.90 | |
| $89.99 | 12 Bottles 100 Count Each | Retail Value $154.80 | |
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Super Cranberry juice concentrate contains natural acids (including quinic acid and benzoic acids plus bacteriostatic substances) that appear to kill the bacteria normally responsible for infections in the urinary tract.
Helps restore normal acid balance for optimum urinary system functioning.
Recent health reports recommend daily Cranberry intake to help maintain cardiovascular health.
No Sugar, Salt, Starch, Preservatives or Artificial Coloring Added.
Find Cranberry Vitamin C Supplements at a Featured Merchant (below)
Cranberry, a small evergreen shrub containing dark pink flowers and cranberries grows in bogs and forests from Tennessee to Alaska and blooms from late spring until the end of the summer. The small red cranberry fruit is produced in fall making Thanksgiving cranberry season. Pilgrims were rumored to have eaten cranberry during Thanksgiving. Sailors especially liked cranberries because eating them provided Vitamin C and prevented scurvy. In the 1800’s is was discovered that the urine of people who ate cranberries contained a bacteriostatic compound. Cranberry juice is commonly used today as a home remedy to prevent bacterial urinary tract infections.
Cranberry juice creates a barrier that keeps bacteria away from cells in the urinary tract.
For generations, people have consumed cranberry juice, convinced of its power to ward off urinary tract infections, though the exact mechanism of its action has not been well understood. A new study by researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) reveals that the juice changes the thermodynamic properties of bacteria in the urinary tract, creating a barrier that prevents the microorganisms from getting close enough to latch onto cells and initiate an infection.
The researchers found that even at low concentrations, cranberry juice altered two properties that serve as indicators of the ability of bacteria to attach to cells. The first factor is called Gibbs free energy of attachment, which is a measure of the amount of energy that must be expended before a bacterium can attach to a cell. Without cranberry juice, this value was a negative number, indicating that energy would be released and attachment was highly likely. With cranberry juice the number was positive and it grew steadily as the concentration of juice increased, making attachment to urinary tract cells increasingly unlikely.
Surface free energy also rose, suggesting that the presence of cranberry juice creates an energy barrier that repels the bacteria. The researchers also placed the bacteria and urinary tract cells together in solution. Without cranberry juice, the fimbriaed bacteria attached readily to the cells. As increasing concentrations of cranberry juice were added to the solution, fewer and fewer attachments were observed.
Cranberry juice had no discernible effect on E. coli bacteria without fimbriae, suggesting that compounds in the juice may act directly on the molecular structure of the fimbriae themselves. This reinforces previous work by the WPI team that showed that exposure to cranberry juice alters the shape of the fimbriae, causing them to become compressed. Using an atomic force microscope as a minute strain gauge, the team also showed that the adhesive force exerted by bacteria on urinary tract cells declined in direct proportion to the concentration of cranberry juice in the solution.
The results show that, at least for urinary tract infections, cranberry juice targets the right bacteria-- those that cause disease--but has no effect on non-pathogenic organisms, suggesting that cranberry juice will not disrupt bacteria that are part of the normal flora in the gut, This effect occurs at concentrations of cranberry juice that are comparable to levels that would be expected in the urinary tract. When E. coli. bacteria that have been treated with cranberry juice and are placed in normal growth media, they regain the ability to adhere to urinary tract cells. This suggests that to realize the antibacterial benefits of cranberry, one must consume cranberry juice regularly--perhaps daily.
Flavonoid - OPCs (oligomeric procyanidins) Now Recognized As Beneficial for Heart Health...
Fruit Sources of Antioxidants, Carotenoids, Phytochemicals Suppling High OPC Flavonoid Levels Are Proven Beneficial For Supporting Cardiovascular Health.
Cranberry juice rich in antioxidant procyanidins is effective at boosting the health of blood vessels, thereby supporting previous research supporting the cardiovascular health of such compounds.
While the potential heart health benefits of flavonoid-rich diets have been reported previously, there was uncertainty about which specific phytochemicals present in flavonoid-rich foods provide the most the benefits, according to the British and Japanese researchers behind the new study.
Findings published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry indicate that oligomeric procyanidins (OPC) had "by far the most potent effects" on the function of the endothelium (the cells lining blood vessels).
The research also builds the science and understanding surrounding the consumption of cranberry juice. "Cranberry consumption is mostly studied in relation to the beneficial effects of A-type procyanidins on urinary tract health," explained the researchers. "However, when the anti-atherosclerotic actions of OPC are also considered, the daily consumption of cranberry juice is likely to have multiple health benefits."
Study details
The researchers tested the effects of flavonoids on endothelial |function. The in vitro tests focussed on measuring of synthesis of the vasoconstrictors endothelin-1 (ET-1).
Extracts of cranberry and cranberry juice (Ocean Spray Cranberries) compared to apple, cocoa, red wine, and green tea showed that OPC content determined the extent of inhibition of ET-1 synthesis, they said. Procyanidin-rich extracts of cranberry juice were also found to produce changes in the morphology of endothelial cells that were independent of the compounds' antioxidant activity.
"In agreement with previous studies on cultured endothelial cells or isolated vessels, compared to flavonoid monomers, OPC have by far the most potent effects on endothelial function," wrote the researchers. "Whether this is also true following dietary consumption of products containing OPC requires a more detailed examination of the relationship between bioavailability and functional effects," they added.
Most studies have shown a benefit of OPCs with doses in the range of 100 to 300 milligrams a day, with the researchers recommending doses of 100 to 200 mg per day.
According to data from the US Department of Agriculture, a healthy diet should provide an adequate intake of OPCs, but studies have suggested that intake of an average diet is only about 25 mg per day.
Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Published online "Regulation of Vascular Endothelial Function by Procyanidin-Rich Foods and Beverages"
