When doing healthy meal planning we likely think of blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries in the berry category. The facts are, cranberries have more than two dozen antioxidant phytonutrients that can help to make us healthier.
About one-third of all adults are estimated to experience Metabolic Syndrome which is not itself considered a chronic disease, but rather, a key risk factor for other chronic diseases, like diabetes and diseases involving the cardiovascular system, and often, UTI (urinary tract infections.)
The health benefits of cranberries are highly credentialed as phytonutrient-rich food. Most of these have shown to have antioxidant and/or anti-inflammatory properties and many other health benefits. The article below from The World’s Healthiest Foods describes a list of anthocyanins, flavonoids, tannins and more that are delivered by cranberries in your diet.
Cranberries can help to regulate your risks from many chronic diseases as this article points out. It also provides a description, selection and storage suggestions and history of cranberries, which are arguably a North American fruit.
One of the challenges of including cranberries in your healthy diet is their taste—tart, tannic and sometimes bitter— which explains why they are mostly a “special occasion” food (20% of their consumption is on Thanksgiving.)
A solution to that challenge can come in the form of a daily supplement that is made from cranberries. Their health benefits cannot be underestimated.