Now a days, we know much more about what causes heart disease… but the prevalence heart disease is still staggering high, which is why researchers are constantly looking for simple and effective ways to help people reduce their risk of heart disease and improve their overall health.

Lucky for us, there may be a solution… a recent discovery suggests that drinking a glass of juice made from a specific fruit can have a direct impact on your heart.

Research shows cranberry juice improves heart health

According to a research study published by the Agricultural Research Service in the Journal of Nutrition, daily consumption of cranberry juice helped lower triglycerides and blood pressure levels, helping reduce risk factors for heart disease.

In the research study, cranberry juice was used as a daily dietary supplement for a period of eight weeks.  The cranberry juice had 17 mg of phenolic compounds in each serving, and these compounds have been shown to effectively reduce blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and C-reactive protein (CRP).

Another research study completed by the Mayo Clinic and College of Medicine showed that drinking at least two glasses of cranberry juice daily might help to protect against artery hardening.  And other studies have shown how regular use of cranberry juice offers many health benefits, including an improvement in fasting plasma glucose, blood pressure, insulin resistance and triglyceride levels.

These findings show that your heart health can benefit by adding a glass of cranberry juice into your daily routine.  Researchers have found other lifestyle factors which work in conjunction with the use of cranberry juice, so you should consider all of your dietary and exercise habits to obtain optimal heart health.

Outside of cranberry juice you should also be consuming other foods high in polyphenol such as blueberries, black currant, cherries, blackberry, strawberry, plum and dark chocolate… just to name a few… to help improve your heart health.

Choosing the right kind of cranberry juice

When you’re hoping of cranberry juice make sure that the sugar content is low.  Like most fruit juices, the first ingredient is usually sugar… and even though cranberry has many health benefits, too much sugar can negate all the benefits.  So if possible, get unsweetened cranberry juice so you can sweeten the juice yourself.  Keep in mind that cranberry is very tart on it’s own, so don’t try to drink it without adding some sweetener.  If you can’t find a suitable cranberry juice at you local grocery store, you can always make it yourself.  You an search homemade cranberry juice online and you’ll a ton of recipes.  Here’s a simple recipe that I use which I got online as well….

Homemade Cranberry Juice

• Combine 8 cups of cranberries (fresh or frozen) and 8 cups of water in a large pan and bring to a boil.

• Once it boils reduce and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

• Strain the juice with a mesh strainer and place the left over berries in a separate container for other use.

• Pour 1 cup of honey into the cranberry juice and stir until the honey is dissolved.  You can also use other natural sweeteners like coconut nectar, maple syrup (grade B), stevia or a combination as well.

• Cool the juice and store in fridge over night.