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* Urinary-tract Infections: Cranberry juice has a long tradition of being employed to treat and prevent urinary-tract infections (UTIs). E. coli, the bacteria that most usually trigger UTIs, come equipped with modest hair-like spikes covering their surfaces, spikes that they use to hook onto human cells in essentially the same way that Velcro would. But cranberry causes those spiky projections to curl up, making the bacteria slippery so that they're easily flushed right out of your urinary tract along with your urine.
* Staph Infections: Just this year a study demonstrated that cranberries have the capacity to fight off Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infections as well. It turns out that a cranberry-juice cocktail was able to substantially suppress a strain of S. aureus that was introduced to the urine of female volunteers who were given the juice to drink. This is, of course, particularly exciting in light of the growing threat of the superbug staph infection known as MRSA that I have written to you about before.
* Tooth decay and gum disease: Your mouth is teeming with bacteria that feed off the sugars in the food you eat. Those bacteria then excrete acid causing tooth decay and eventually gum disease. But cranberry juice can head off this process at the pass. The cranberry juice acts as sort of a nonstick coating, literally preventing the bacteria from sticking to your teeth inside the 1st place.
* Blood Pressure: Researchers at Queen Mary University in London measured the cardio-protective effects of cranberry juice and discovered that it can aid lower blood pressure and promote overall heart health. The scientists identified a compound called oligomeric procyanidins as the key substance in cranberries that helps to stop the blood-vessel constriction that eventually leads to high blood pressure.
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