The ability of a regular cranberry supplement to help you avoid urinary infections is well known, but what most are not aware of are all the other health benefits cranberry supplements can offer. Cranberry is a beautiful red berry, its color indicating that it contains a high antioxidant content. Because the berry has been found to have a high polyphenol content, and these are known antioxidants, many believe that the antioxidant properties of the berry come from these alone, although that may not be the whole story.

Irrespective of why, cranberry is a good supplement to take to help avoid the condition of your arteries known as atherosclerosis. This is a condition where your arteries become progressively blocked with cholesterol oxidized by free radicals. This can lead to strokes or hear attacks, although the antioxidants in cranberry stop this from happening by neutralizing the free radicals. Nevertheless, a cranberry supplement cannot help any existing condition. That's why you must take supplements such as cranberry capsules to prevent the condition occurring.

Most people know about cranberry and how it can help prevent urinary tract infections such as cystitis. However, not all understand the other health benefits offered by this small berry although its color should offer you a clue. A red or blue coloration - in fact any high color - in a fruit or vegetable is a good indication of the presence of antioxidants. Blues indicate anthocyanins while reds and yellows are indicative of high levels of flavonoids and carotenes. Each has its own specific benefits, but all antioxidants offer strong protection against the oxidizing effects of free radicals.

So, in addition to cranberry helping prevent you contracting an infection of your urinary tract from the bladder to the exit of the urethra, it also helps you to avoid atherosclerosis, a condition of your arteries than can lead to strokes and heart failure. Not only that, but cranberry extract supplements can help reduce wrinkling of your skin and age spots cause by oxidation of skin cells and fatty deposits beneath within them. There are also suggestions that cranberry may reduce incidences of certain cancers such as ovarian cancer, so it seems a sensible supplement to take, particularly for women.

There are several reasons why you should take a cranberry supplement. The main one is that it prevents infections of the urinary tract such as cystitis, in which respect it may seem more appropriate for women. However, even men can get bladder and urethra infections and it is wise to take a maintenance supplement to prevent such infections. This is particularly the case if you have had a previous infection.

Cranberry is also rich in antioxidants, and offers strong protection against atherosclerosis, a blockage of the arteries with cholesterol deposits that can lead to strokes and heart failure. Not only that, but its antioxidant properties help to prevent the free radical disruption of the membranes of your skin cells that can lead to premature aging. Cranberry therefore helps you to look younger for longer, and avoid the aging effect of excessive exposure to the sun and traffic fumes.

That's why you should take a cranberry supplement - to prevent urinary tract infections, maintain a healthy heart and help you look younger as you age. What more can you ask for in one simple capsule?