Drink of the Month - Cranberry Juice

Growing up in southern New England, cranberries are inescapable. They are blended with every conceivable drink from beer to apple juice. The bogs are everywhere and the distinct, somewhat putrid smell of cranberry bogs is fixed permanently in my memory. My elementary school even went on field trips to the Ocean Spray plant and museum. Perhaps out of this indoctrination, or perhaps on its own merits, cranberry juice is one of my preferred beverages. It turns out, however, that this obsession is healthy. Cranberries are one of the most potent natural sources of antioxidants, those wonderful biochemical compounds that can help alleviate things like heart disease, cancer, and aging. Cranberry juice is a traditional folk remedy for urinary tract infections, and scientific research has recently confirmed that consumption of cranberry juice inhibits the adhesion of pathogenic bacteria to the lining of the urinary tract (World J Urol. 2006 Feb;24(1):21-7). In addition, cranberry components and juice reduce “bad” cholesterol (Life Sci 2005 Aug 26;77(15):1892-901, Metabolism 2005 Jul;54(7):856-61). Cranberry juice also suppresses H. pylori infection, a major factor in ulcer development (Helicobacter 2005 Apr;10(2):139-45). Both cranberry extracts and cranberry juice promote dental health by disrupting bacterial coaggregation and biofilm formation (J Am Dental Assoc 1998 Dec;129(12):1719-23, Oral Microbiol Immunol 2004 Jun;19(3):150-4). In addition, compounds in cranberry juice kill a wide range of cancer cell lines (J Agric Food Chem 2004 May 5;52(9):2512-7). Though scientific studies have not yet demonstrated that cranberry juice itself protects against cancer or aging, many of the other benefits have been demonstrated in well-controlled clinical trials.

What does all of this mean? Well to me, it says “Drink more cranberry juice!” It is important to realize however, that the “cranberry juice cocktail” or the cranberry juice blends found at the grocery store are usually mostly apple or grape juice, and contain very little actual cranberry juice. The reason for this is that the taste of straight, unsweetened cranberry juice is a potent as its antioxidants. To get the health benefits and avoid the excess sugar, head to the organic section and pick up any of several available (at least in Massachusetts) 100% unsweetened cranberry juices. I might as well warn you, the taste will take your head off. It is impossibly tart – chomping on raw rhubarb (which I am known to do) pales by comparison. Try it straight up once just for the experience – I doubt you’ll want to do it twice. To make it palatable, I mix 1 part cranberry with 2 parts orange juice (or 1 to 1 if I’m feeling adventurous). At this strength, cranberry still completely dominates the flavor but I think it is quite tasty. One final note of caution: I learned from rather disturbing experience that if you drink a lot of 100% cranberry juice in a short time (a quart in 24 hours is enough) two things could happen 1.) Your stomach may not react so well – cranberry juice is tart, acidic, and loaded with tannins 2.) Your feces will turn green. Really. It is apparently due to the metabolic byproducts of the red pigments in the juice. Go figure.