Hey guys, Dr. Axe here.
A question I got recently from a patient was, "Is cranberry juice good for you?"
And my answer is, the benefits of cranberry juice can be absolutely amazing if you're
buying the right type of cranberry juice.
In this video, I'm going to talk to you about the many benefits of cranberry juice and what
type of cranberry juice you should take and what type you should absolutely stay away
from.
So let's start talking about the many benefits of cranberry juice.
So cranberry juice, the reason it's so beneficial is, cranberries on the Orac Score Chart, which
is the antioxidant ranking, they score nearly 10,000.
That's five times more antioxidants than spinach and five times more than most other fruit.
So first off, you can see that it is loaded with antioxidants.
One of those phyto-nutrients in cranberries is called anthocyanin, and it has anti-microbial
properties.
So one of the things that you can use cranberry juice in treating is urinary tract infections.
So again, if you have a UTI, cranberry juice has many benefits.
It is a great natural treatment.
In fact, when I have patients who have UTIs, I have them get off all sugar and just take
a cranberry extract or cranberry juice, along with vegetables for several days.
And it completely helps eliminate those UTI infections, so again, one of the main benefits
there.
Also one of the many benefits of cranberries is because of the antioxidants, it's a powerful
cancer-fighter.
And we know that most berries, including blueberries and cranberries both, because of those antioxidants,
can help fight cancer.
Another great benefit of cranberry is that they really specifically support the kidneys
and the bladder.
And in Chinese medicine, the kidneys are there, along with the adrenal glands, to help your
body better deal with stress.
So if you're under emotional stress on a regular basis, whether it's relational stress, workplace
stress, or something else going on in your life to where you know you're stressed out,
cranberry juice specifically is fantastic for helping your body deal with stress because
it improves circulation.
And again, your kidneys are part of your body that help deal with stress.
And so again, if you tend to be a dramatic person or, again, engaged in any type of stress,
drinking cranberry juice on a regular basis can help combat those issues.
Also, cranberry juice is fantastic for your liver.
When you taste that sourness of that cranberry juice, that's nourishing to your liver, so
it supports detoxification, another great benefit there of cranberry juice.
As I mentioned earlier, the question I get all the time, "Is cranberry juice good for
you?"
Well, it depends.
Here's the cranberry juice you want to stay away from.
If there is any added sugar, and that goes for dried cranberries or cranberry juice both,
but if there's any added sugar, stay away from it.
The type of cranberry juice you want is, ideally you'd buy the cranberries whole and juice
them yourself.
If not, just straight cranberry juice and ideally unpasteurized or low-temperature pressed.
But again, cranberry juice has tremendous health benefits.
It can be used to cleanse your urinary tract, cleanse your kidney, support your adrenal
glands, support your liver.
You can see it is one of the world's healthiest foods, but again, you want to stay away from
any with added sugar.
I have actually several great cranberry recipes on my website.
If you simply go to DrAxe.com, you're going to find several cranberry recipes on there.
I know it's popular during Thanksgiving, but hey, you can use it year-round to take your
health to the next level.
Hey, guys.
This has been Dr. Axe talking about "Is cranberry juice good for you?"