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THE FRUITS
MONAVIE’S NINETEEN FRUIT BLEND
CRANBERRY
Cranberry is a relatively small, red berry, which grows on low-hanging vines
in temperate zones in many regions of the United States and other parts of
the world. Cranberry can be taken as a juice or the whole berry or from an
extract of these. For maximum health benefit cranberry juice should be of
the unsweetened variety.
URINARY TRACT
Indigenous peoples have used cranberry preparations to treat urinary tract
infections (UTI) and other illness for centuries. Modern medical research
has revealed the chemical and physiological effects cranberries have on the
urinary tract and just how drinking cranberry juice may help prevent urinary
tract infections.
Cranberries contain proanthocyanidins (PACs), which inhibit the fimbrial
adhesion of bacteria, including Escherichia coli, to the urinary tract
epithelium and hence the subsequent reproduction required for infection. It
is these unique compounds that are pivotal in the prevention of UTI rather
than the acidification of the urine as was previously hypothesized.
ANTI-ADHESION
Dr. Amy Howell et al. first reported on cranberry PACs antiadhesion
properties in 1998. In 2002, at the Experimental Biology conference, it was
reported that an eight-ounce serving of cranberry juice cocktail prevented
E. coli from adhering to the bladder cells in the urine of six volunteers.
Findings published as a research letter in the June 19, 2002 edition of the
Journal of the American Medical Association reported that not only are
cranberry PACs able to inhibit the adhesion of antibiotic susceptible
bacteria, but resistant strains as well. The authors also report that the
antiadhesion effect can last up to 10 hours after consumption, suggesting
that two servings of cranberry juice cocktail a day, consumed at appropriate
intervals, may be more beneficial than one.
While cranberry is perhaps best known for its effect on urinary tract
health, newer research indicates that it may act elsewhere in the body
against other bacteria as well. The adhesion of the different types of
bacteria that cause both stomach ulcers, and periodontal gum disease, have
been shown to be inhibited in the presence of cranberry, and it is likely
that others susceptible bacteria will be found as well.
It is likely that the anti adhesion effect may have far reaching
implications. Not only may regular consumption of cranberry products help
maintain health, but in the process will reduce the number of infections in
a given population, and thereby the doses of antibiotics which are needed.
It is becoming increasingly clear that a reduction in general antibiotic use
also reduces the likelihood of the bacteria becoming resistant to those very
same antibiotics, which is a public health problem of global proportions.
ANTIOXIDANTS
The medical and health community is fast recognizing antioxidants as premier
disease fighters. Cranberries have been shown to contain more antioxidant
phenols than 19 commonly eaten fruits according to a study published in the
November 19, 2001 edition of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry."
These antioxidants may play a role in helping to prevent heart disease and
certain cancers" according to the study's author Dr. Joe Vinson at the
University of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
But just what are antioxidants? Antioxidants are compounds that are
naturally manufactured by the body and/or are ingested, primarily as
components of fruits and vegetables, which have the ability to stabilize
free radicals by donating an electron, and at the same time, do not become
free radicals themselves. Under conditions of stress the human body's
ability to produce antioxidants can become severely impaired. Cranberries
can serve as a good source of supplemental antioxidants. Simply put,
antioxidants protect our bodies from harmful molecules we are exposed to
every day of our lives.
DENTAL
A study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association reported
that a unique cranberry juice component, a high-molecular-weight
nondialysable material (NDM), has the ability to reverse and inhibit the
coaggregation of certain oral bacteria responsible for dental plaque and
periodontal disease in vitro. In addition to cranberry, NDM was isolated
from blueberries, mangos, peaches, plums and raspberries. Only weak activity
was found in blueberry and the other fruits tested showed no inhibition
activity.
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition reported on a preliminary
clinical trial using a mouthwash containing cranberry NDM. Saliva samples of
the experimental group showed a two order of magnitude reduction in
Streptococcus mutans colony forming units compared with the placebo group
(unpublished data). A large percentage of dental caries (cavities) can be
attributed to S. mutans.
Dental plaque is composed primarily of oral bacteria that have attached
themselves to the tooth and gum surfaces, and to each other (coaggregation).
This biofilm may be comprised of hundreds of species and can be resistant to
saliva and mechanical brushing which would otherwise remove these bacteria.
Plaque is a major cause of periodontal disease.
ULCER
Peptic ulcers are increasingly being attributed to infection by Helicobacter
pylori bacteria, as opposed to stress and/or stomach acidity. A
high-molecular-weight nondialysable constituent of cranberry juice has been
shown to inhibit the adhesion of H. pylori to human gastric mucus in
vitro.10 These preliminary results suggest that cranberry may be beneficial
in the prevention of peptic ulcers through the inhibition of H. pylori
adhesion to gastric mucus and stomach epithelium.
H. pylori is capable of surviving in the mucosal lining of the stomach and
duodenum by neutralizing stomach acid, in its local environment, through
urea hydrolysis. In Western countries approximately 50% of persons above the
age of 60 are affected. 25 million Americans will suffer from peptic ulcers
at some point in their life and there are approximately 1 million ulcer
related hospitalizations in the US each year. Prevalence of infection in
developing countries increases dramatically. The majority of adults (80-90%)
and 10% of children are affected. In addition to ulcers, H. pylori infection
has been linked to gastric adenocarcinomas (stomach cancer), non-ulcer
dyspepsia (acid reflux disease), and gastritis (inflammation of the
stomach).
HEART
Flavonoids have been shown to function as potent antioxidants both in vitro
and in vivo and may reduce the risk of atherosclerosis. Cranberries contain
significant amounts of flavonoids and polyphenolic compounds that have been
demonstrated to inhibit low density lipoprotein oxidation. Ongoing research
continues to suggest that cranberries may offer a natural defense against
atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis, in the simplest terms, is the accumulation of low density
lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad cholesterol", in arteries resulting in restricted
blood flow. In the advance stages of the disease blood flow may be decrease
severely or cease completely resulting in angina (chest pain), a thrombosis
(blood clot) and/or myocardial infarction (heart attack). Atherosclerosis is
a primary cause of cardiovascular disease. According to the American Heart
Association (2001), on average one person in the US dies every 33 seconds
from a cardiovascular illness.
ANTI AGING
USDA scientists at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts
University have been finding promising results associated with diets high in
antioxidants and other phytonutrients. Preliminary studies suggest that
diets containing fruit and vegetables with high-ORAC^ values may provide
protection against chronic age-related afflictions like loss of coordination
and memory.
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