Cranberry; A Thanksgiving Fruit, Herb, Juice and An Important Plant

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Wow! It is good to be back you know, being away for a while made me sick and it made me miss the community even more but anyways, I'm back!. About a week ago, I was going through Grandma's old natural herbs and fruit list, well I wasn't really looking for the list actually, I was looking for something else and till now I really can't remember what it was I was looking for. However I noticed the name **"Cranberry"** appeared twice in two separate lists, so I thought to look into it. Gear up, let's find out about cranberries a little bit more. https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmUzyHDprsVFcsXjRxGfoa1rF4npVnG8FyuS8Dbmb84cMy/cranberries-1334507_640.jpg _{[Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/photos/cranberries-cocktail-berry-fruit-1334507/)} #### Cranberries Now, you may already know a lot about cranberries but I'll just give you a brief background; Cranberry is an evergreen plant that is mostly native to North America, belonging to the family **Ericaceae.** According to Wikipedia, Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs up to 2 meters (7 ft) long and 5 to 20 centimeters (2 to 8 in) in height. They have slender, wiry stems that are not thickly woody and have small evergreen leaves. The name Cranberry is used to describe red-like berries produced by diverse plant species, and the name its name was gotten from German and Dutch settlers, who started calling it **"crane berry"**. Cranberries are mostly grown in North America, its flowers are dark pink, with reflexed petals that leaves its stamens pointing forward. Its nature causes it to taste sour if consumed raw so, it is rarely eaten raw in other to avoid the sour taste.

https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmX9akW7DLLeb97XJ3APftEQ7QTMEKtgdv19ncBgEztaB9/cranberries-2907901_640.jpg [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/photos/cranberries-berries-forest-floor-2907901/)

More Importantly, Cranberries were used by native Americans for food, health, and dyes and when the Europeans arrived, they, in turn, incorporated it to their diet. Cranberries, grow only on acidic soils, and in areas with low temperature. Cranberry is a popular berry that possesses high nutrients, antioxidants for the body and does not grow in water, despite several beliefs. It has the ability to slow the rate of cardiovascular diseases that occur in the body, it also has the ability to slow certain tumor progressions in the human body. Although cranberries can be consumed raw, some people process it before consuming. In ancient times, cranberries were used to kill poison inflicted by poisonous arrows and they are known to grow during October till December. This particular berry helps to reduce the rate of urinary tract infections **(UTIs)** and its nutrients have been said to lower the rate of cases like cancer and tumor and also, it decreases blood pressure. Cranberry Juices possess nutrients that make the skin glow, improves the function of the heart, and keeps the overall immune system in check. Interestingly, Cranberry juices are actually nice, even I would prefer the juice than the actual raw berry, but its also cool to take cranberry in whatever form because it is very healthy and another important thing that cranberry juice does to the body, is that it reduces the severity of chronic diseases and age-related challenges or damage. https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmT92eu6zcCNSMzwmxVhvX9JVuwuhMohNHHQnuvCqC2k9z/jam-1106592_640.jpg _{[Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/photos/jam-jar-christmas-homemade-1106592/)} Cranberries also do a lot of work on our kidneys and add a whole lot of calories to the body. It is said that half a cup of cranberries is equivalent to 25 calories, and a full cup, sums up to about 50 calories in measurement. Cranberries contain Vitamins **C, K1, E, copper, Carbs, and very little fiber**, and fresh cranberries are nearly 85-90% water-harvested. Aside from being largely infused with high antioxidants, Cranberries are also used for Fabric dyes, they can be processed into Juices, jams, sauces, and various cocktails, and no matter what form it takes, its health benefit is never questioned. Finally, Cranberries have been nicknamed **"Thanksgiving fruit"** due to the fact that they are consumed more during Thanksgiving week. Cranberries are also referred to as herbs, they can be used as supplements and also they are a good source of manganese and dietary fibers and on the downside, Cranberries contain soluble fiber that may cause indigestion and also lead to diarrhea. Cranberries are not infection killers, they just have the ability to reduce the risk of infection that you and I might be prone to. They help reduce stiffness in blood flow, reduces risk of inflammation and if consumed on a regular basis, Cranberries will reduce heart diseases and cholesterol damage. So, get a few cranberries, in any form and incorporate it into you and your family's diet. **Remember Natural food and medicines are the best ways to stay healthy!** **FACT: Did you know that cranberries have small pockets where air seeps into that allows them to float?** #### References [Cranberries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranberry) [Cranberry Benefits](https://draxe.com/cranberries/) [Cranberry: Supplements, Uses](https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-958/cranberry) [Better Nutrition](https://www.betternutrition.com/diet-and-nutrition/health-benefits-cranberries)

Thank you and stay healthy!

Originally posted here: https://steemit.com/naturalmedicine/@rhemakosi/cranberry-a-thanksgiving-fruit-herb-juice-and-an-important-plant