A Glass of Cranberry Juice a Day Keeps Heart Disease Away
Written by Elyse Ehlert
Edited by Jasmine Jeon
January 5, 2023
Edited by Jasmine Jeon
January 5, 2023
You may have heard the old wives’ tale that cranberry juice can help treat UTIs, but have you heard that they might be good for your heart health? In a study from the Nutritional Sciences Departments of the University of Arizona, Tucson and Pennsylvania State University, researchers investigated the effects of cranberry juice on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. According to the World Health Organization, CVD is the world’s #1 cause of death, so the search for preventative actions against it is crucial to our global population’s health. Observing this, researchers looked to cranberries which are strong in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory polyphenols.
Forty participants with elevated resting blood pressure between the ages of 30 and 65 were recruited and separated into cranberry juice/placebo groups. The randomized study was conducted in 2 phases, called a 2-period crossover study. This meant that participants would receive either the cranberry juice supplement or a similar placebo beverage in a period of 8 weeks, and then following an 8 week break, would receive the other treatment (the one they did not receive for the first period) for another 8 weeks. Each day, participants had to drink two 8 ounce bottles of the juice and log their consumption. Before and after each period, vascular testing and blood sampling were conducted and participants wore an ambulatory blood pressure measuring device for 24 hours on those days.
Though cranberry juice did not greatly affect the central systolic blood pressure in comparison to the placebo, it did decrease ambulatory (moving) diastolic blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure indicates the amount of pressure the heart exerts when beating while diastolic blood pressure determines “the amount of pressure in the arteries between beats”. Another pair of determinants that were observed were LDL (low density lipoprotein) and HDL (high density lipoprotein). According to the CDC, elevated LDL increases CVD risk, whereas elevated HDL means lower CVD risk. In this study, LDL particles were increased by cranberry juice though it also increased the output of overall HDL for overweight participants.
This study found several leads that may help determine the overall effect cranberry juice has on one’s cardiovascular health. However, the researchers behind it admit that in order to verify these results and explore what each might mean, further research is necessary. Exploring the effects of a beverage that might affect one’s health is a great example of how integral the scientific process and research are in the medical field. This is especially true in the study of cardiovascular disease, as heart problems are something that can begin at any stage of life.
Image Source: "Cranberry Juice" by Elyse Ehlert