Cranberry Concentrate

Cranberries

The cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is a berry bush native to North America. For hundreds of years, Native Americans ate cranberries, often mixed with other staple foods. Native Americans also used crushed cranberries as a poultice to treat wounds.

Cranberry and Urinary Tract Health

Cranberry has been used traditionally for many years in folk medicine for urinary tract health.*1 Now modern research confirms its effectiveness. Consuming cranberry, either as several ounces of unsweetened juice or 800 mg of supplemental cranberry concentrate, has been shown to help maintain a healthy clean urinary tract.* 2,3,4 It supports the body’s immune function through several specific mechanisms which foster a healthy urinary tract.*3

The most obvious of these mechanisms is in its ability to prevent adherance of bacteria to the walls of the urinary tract, thereby inhibiting growth of the bacteria.*2,5,6,7,8  Nature’s Life Cranberry Concentrate 1,200 mg tablets provide as much cranberry fruit solids as 2 ounces of 27% cranberry fruit juice cocktail (but without the added sugars!)

Cranberry is also being studied to further understand its effect of preventing plaque from adhering to teeth.*  If this research proves valid, gingival and periodontal health could be improved with the consumption of cranberry juice.*9

Cranberry’s Antioxidant Proanthocyanidins*

The cranberry plant belongs to a family of bush berries (including blueberries and bilberries) with a reputation as phytonutrient powerhouses. In addition to a high flavonoid content (such as quercetin), the Vaccinia are the best known source of the potent phenol compounds known as proanthocyanidins, which are plant pigments.  Phenols are water-soluble compounds found in plants that exhibit antioxidant properties.*10 The general rule of thumb is that plants with the deepest, richest color are the best for you. Flavonoids and carotenoids lend color to plants, and valuable nutrition to you!

Standard laboratory tests on cranberry shows it contains active proanthocyanidins and has strong antioxidant properties.*11  In one test of cranberry’s antioxidant action, cranberry extract was mixed with low density lipoproteins (LDL) in the presence of a strong oxidizing agent. The LDL cholesterol was maintained in a normal unoxidized state, demonstrating cranberry’s effectiveness as an antioxidant.*12

Cranberry may promote healthy liver function.*

In lab experiments, cranberry was tested for the proanthocyanidins’ ability to stimulate the liver’s phase II enzymes, a natural chemical pathway used by the body to render potentially harmful compounds harmless. The proanthocyanidins in cranberry strongly induced phase II enzymes.*11 Until recently it was not known that foods or herbs induced these powerful natural enzymes.

Nature’s Life Cranberry Concentrate

Nature’s Life Cranberry Concentrate provides all of the beneficial phytonutrients of whole cranberries. The tablets contain no added sugar or other sweeteners and are fortified with Vitamin C. For urinary tract health, or to help maintain a healthy liver and cholesterol levels, Nature’s Life Cranberry Concentrate is available – backed by solid clinical research as well as years of traditional use.

REFERENCES:

1. Fleet, JC.  New support for a folk remedy: cranberry juice reduces bacteria and pyuria in   elderly women.  Nutr Rev 1994;52:168-70.

2. Avorn J, Monane M, Gurwitz JH, et al.  Reduction of bacteriuria and pyuria after ingestion of cranberry juice. JAMA 1994;271:751-4.

3. Walker EB, Barney DP, Mickelsen JN, et al. Cranberry concentrate: UTI prophylaxis. J Fam Practice 1997;45:167-8 [letter].

4. Dignam R, Ahmed M, Denman S, et al. The effect of cranberry juice on UTI rates in a long term care facility. J Am Geriatr Soc 1997;45:S53.

5. Ahuja, S. Loss of fimbrial adhesion with the addition of Vaccinium macrocarpon to the growth medium of P-fimbriated Escherichia coli. J Urol 1998;159: 559-62.  

6. Howell AB, Vorsa N, Der Maderosian A. Inhibition of the adherence of P-fimbriated Escherichia coli to uroepithelial—all surfaces by proanthocyanidin extracts from cranberries. New Engl J Med 1998;339:1005-6.

7. Sobota AE. Inhibition of bacterial adherence by cranberry juice: Potential use for the treatment of urinary tract infections. J Urol 1984;131:1013-6.

8. Bodel PT, Cotran R, Kass EH. Cranberry juice and the antibacterial action of hippuric acid. J Lab Clin Med 1959;54:881-8.

9. Weiss, EI. Inhibiting interspecies coaggregation of plaque bacteria with a cranberry juice constituent. J Am Dent Assoc 1998;129:1719-23.

10. Bomser J, Madhavi DL, Singletary K, et. al. In vitro anticancer activity of fruit extracts from Vaccinium species. Planta Med 1996;62:212-6.

11. Bomser J. In vitro anticancer activity of fruit extracts from Vaccinium species. Planta Med 1996;62:212-6.

12. Wilson T, Cranberry extract inhibits low density lipoprotein oxidation. Life Sci 1998;62:PL381-6.

Cranberry Concentrate

...supports a healthy urinary tract*

Features & Benefits

• Inhibits the growth of harmful Escherichia coli bacteria*

• Prevents the adherence of bacteria to the lining of the urinary tract which helps to reduce bacteria*

• Increases the excretion of hippuric acid in urine which increases urinary acidity*

• Eases swelling of the kidneys and painful urination*

Facts About Cranberry

Cranberries have been used as an herbal remedy for the urinary tract for over a century.* In the 1920s, scientists demonstrated that cranberries increase the urinary excretion of hippuric acid, an organic acid which acidifies urine.*1 More recently, researchers have investigated the ability of cranberries to prevent the adherence of bacteria to the urinary tract lining.*2,3

Bacteria strains capable of attaching to the mucus lining of the urinary tract are more likely to contribute to an overgrowth of bacteria, while unattached bacteria are harmlessly eliminated when the bladder is emptied.*2 Laboratory research demonstrates that cranberry juice contains at least two separate compounds which hinder the ability of  E. coli (the bacteria most frequently associated with urinary tract problems) to adhere to the urinary tract lining.*3

A clinical trial involving elderly women prone to developing bladder problems demonstrates that cranberry juice effectively helps maintain a healthy urinary tract.*4 When 153 elderly women drank either 10 ounces of cranberry juice cocktail every day for six months or a similarly tasting but inactive beverage, the women drinking the cranberry juice were 58 percent more likely to maintain healthy urinary tracts unaffected by harmful organisms.*4 However, it may take four to eight weeks of daily use before cranberry juice affects bacteria adhesion levels or the presence of white blood cells in the urine.*4

Children with medical conditions requiring urinary catheters, which can increase the risk for urinary tract problems, may also benefit from cranberry juice. A small study of 16 such children, tracked the presence of white and red blood cells in their urine (markers of infection) while the children drank two to three glasses of cranberry juice daily.5 At the beginning of the study, most of the children had measurable levels of red and white blood cells in their urine, which were reduced after drinking the cranberry juice for two weeks. In addition, many of the children’s urine was clearer and had less of an odor while drinking the cranberry juice.

Ingredient Highlights

This high potency product contains pure concentrated cranberry solids, without the calories from added sugars. These natural tablets contain no artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colors or flavors. Each tablet is equivalent to 2 ounces of 27% cranberry fruit juice concentrate. The tablets also contain nutrients, including 35 mg of magnesium, 30 mg of vitamin C, plus trace amounts of calcium, copper, iron, potassium and B vitamins. Other key components are organic acids, such as citric acid, malic acid, quinic acid and benzoic acid (which act as natural preservatives).

References

1. Bodel PT, Cotran R, and Kass EH: Cranberry juice and the antibacterial action of hippuric acid. J Lab Clin, 1959;54(6):881-888

2. Eden CS, Janson GL, and Lindberg U: Adhesiveness to urinary tract epithelial cells of fecal and urinary Eschericha coli isolates from patients with symptomatic urinary tract infections or asymptomatic bacteriuria of varying duration. J Urol, 1979;122:185-188

3. Zafriri D, Ofek I, Adar R, et al: Inhibitory activity of cranberry juice on adherence of type 1 and type P fimbriated Eschericha coli to eucaryotic cells. Antimicrob Agents Chemo,1989;33(1):92-98

4. Avorn J, Monane M, Gurwitz JH, et al: Reduction of bacteriuria and pyuria after ingestion of cranberry juice. JAMA, 1994;271(10):751-754

5. Rogers J: Pass the cranberry juice. Nursing Times, 1991;87(48):36-37