Cranberries are small, creeping shrubs with tiny leaves and slender brown stems. It can be found in a peat bog. It belongs to the heather family, and there are as many as 6 types of cranberries. The berry has a sour taste with a slight bitterness. Cranberries have long been known for their medicinal properties.
The foliage of the bush is very unusual, its underside is silvery, as it has a waxy coating. Ripe fruits are dark red in color and have a shiny skin. Berries are distinguished by their shape: in the form of a ball, oblong and resembling a pear. There are also large specimens reaching 12 mm.
The benefits of cranberries have been known for a long time. While this wonderful berry ripens, it manages to accumulate useful substances in itself. Cranberries contain fructose, fiber, proteins, vitamins and many other useful substances. Berries differ in taste with sourness due to the content of 3% acids in them: benzoic, oxalic, malic. Cranberries have one useful property, to synthesize a useful compound - ursolic acid. It has the ability to dilate venous vessels and retain sodium ions.
The amount of vitamin C in the berry is small - only 15 mg per 100 g of fruit. The mineral composition in berries is varied, they include 24 elements: phosphorus, potassium, iron, iodine and others.
The sugar found in cranberries is 5%. There are also pectin substances in the berry that remove toxins from the body.
Another advantage of these wonderful berries is that they are healing. Useful substances have antimicrobial effect. Even E. coli are killed.
Animals and birds feed on these berries. Cranberries are not only food for them, but also a medicine.
The beneficial properties of the berry are used not only in folk medicine. Many preparations have been made on the basis of cranberries. The beneficial substances of this berry help the brain work, have a positive effect on the work of the musculoskeletal system. The antimicrobial properties of cranberries help fight oral diseases. They have antipyretic properties, increase efficiency and help the body fight many diseases.
Fresh cranberries can be frozen and eaten in winter, when our body is so lacking in vitamins and nutrients.
