Cranberry juice is the juice of the cranberry. As a pure juice, it is quite tart; as with lime juice, it is not intended as a drink on its own. One solution is to combine it with sweeter juices, such as apple or grape. Another solution is to dilute it with water and add some sweetener, such as corn syrup or sugar, or artificial sweetener (sucralose or aspartame). The term, used on its own, almost always refers to a sweetened version.
Cranberry juice cocktail is sometimes used as a mixer with alcoholic drinks such as a Cape Codder (1+1/2 ounces of vodka to 4 ounces cranberry juice) or non-alcoholic drinks such as the Bog Grog (2 parts Chelmsford ginger ale [or regular ginger ale] to 3 parts cranberry juice).
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Cranberry juice contains substances that may effect individual health. These substances include:
Cranberry juice may help prevent and relieve the symptoms of urinary tract infections by primary and secondary means. The primary means works on the bacteria directly by altering the molecular structure of the fimbriae on the pathogenic strains of the bacteria that cause the infections.[4] The properties of the proanthocyanidins in cranberries prevents the bacteria from adhering to the surface of the bladder and urinary tract.[5] The secondary means works indirectly on the bacteria by changing the intravesical pH (the pH of the bladder's contents) making it more acidic.
However, results from recent randomized controlled trials have been disappointing. A trial of 319 college women with an acute UTI, failed to show that drinking cranberry juice (8 oz of 27% twice daily) would reduce the incidence of a second UTI.[6] Another study performed in The Netherlands randomised 221 women to receive either co-trimoxazole or cranberry capsules. That study found that the antibiotics were superior to cranberry capsules, but were associated with an increase in antibiotic resistance.[7] However, in an accompanying editorial, the dose of cranberries used in the study was criticised for being too low.[8]
Although cranberry juice may help prevent growth of bacteria,[9] its pH may be as acidic as 2.3–2.5,[10] which is more acidic than most soft drinks, which could potentially dissolve tooth enamel over time.
1cup of cranberry juice (253ml) contains the following nutritional information according to the USDA:[11]
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