Cranberries -- a Functional Food

Doctors have long advised patients to drink cranberry juice to help prevent urinary tract infections, despite the fact that this was considered an old wives tale. Quantitative research conducted by the Harvard Medical School and Rutgers University in 1994 and 1998 revealed that the cranberry actually does help. It prevents the bacteria, Escherichia coli, from adhering to the lining of the bladder. However, you should not use cranberry juice alone as treatment for a bladder infection; see you health care provider if you have painful urination, fever, and other symptoms.

Cranberries also contain many phytochemicals and antioxidants that may help to prevent diseases including cancer and heart disease, along with slowing the aging process.

So don't save cranberries just for Thanksgiving! Drink cranberry juice: stick with 100% juice not the "juice cocktails" for the most benefit. And try cranberry sauce with pork chops or chicken too.

Each year, Medical College of Wisconsin physicians care for more than 180,000 patients, representing nearly 500,000 patient visits. Medical College physicians practice at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, and many other hospitals and clinics in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin.