Many people now know that cranberries provide a lot of vitamin C. And that you can use the cranberry for bladder infections. But what many don’t know is that the cranberry only releases its juice once it has frozen. Cranberries thrive in freezing temperatures.
Cranberries give their juice when it has frozen
A cranberry normally only yields 8 percent juice when you squeeze it. That content increases enormously once the frost has passed. Then no less than 88 percent juice comes out of the cranberry. It is therefore no wonder that the berry is also grown in countries where it can be very cold, such as Belarus.
Antibiotics or cranberries for a urinary tract infection or bladder infection
Some people are very susceptible to urinary tract infections or bladder infections. Research has shown that they benefit most from a low dose of preventive antibiotics. This deters the infection and the women who participated in the study went from 8 to 1.8 infections per year.
Antibiotics have many side effects
This seems to be a good solution for women who are constantly plagued by bladder infections. The point, however, is that antibiotics also have many unpleasant side effects, depending on what type of antibiotics are prescribed. These may include:
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- Stomach and intestinal problems (taking or drinking a probiotic can relieve the complaints)
- Fungal infections in the intestines, skin and vagina
- Resistance (so if someone gets another disease, the antibiotics often no longer work)
- The contraceptive pill no longer works (other protection is needed to avoid becoming pregnant)
- Sun allergy (anyone who goes into the sun gets bumps and rashes)
- Deficiency of vitamins B and K
No antibiotics, but take cranberry preventatively for bladder infections
However, taking cranberry capsules also appeared to work well, although there were no side effects. However, cranberries are less helpful than taking antibiotics preventively. Those who consistently took the cranberry capsules reduced the number of infections by half, from 8 to 4 per year. But the women studied did not develop antibiotic resistance.
Cranberry juice is very sour
Taking capsules is the easiest way to get the good substances in the cranberry. Of course, someone can also drink the juice, but it is very acidic. Moreover, a person has to drink quite a bit of the drink to have an effect. A study with capsules that are commonly available in stores showed that participants developed half of the infections. It is possible that a higher dose will have a much greater effect.
Turkey with cranberry sauce – to prevent scurvy
Thanksgiving is often celebrated in the US with a traditional meal that includes turkey with cranberry sauce. It is said that this dates back to the Civil War when General Ulysses Grant served this dish to his men during the siege of Petersburg in 1864. Other reports contradict this and indicate that the soldiers started eating a lot of cranberries themselves to prevent scurvy.
The large cranberry and the small cranberry
The large cranberry is the cranberry and is native to North America. Indians already knew that the plant had many medicinal properties and used it to treat arrow wounds, dye clothes and to protect the bladder. The berry was actually cultivated in the US and Canada from the nineteenth century onwards. Because the cranberry helped prevent scurvy among sailors who did not have fresh vegetables with them, people also tried to grow the cranberry in Europe. That first happened in England and Germany. The small cranberry is not an exotic species, but has been found in the Netherlands for a long time. The berry grows on acidic and nutrient-poor soil and is mainly found in Drenthe and Northwest Overijssel.
How come so many cranberries are grown on Terschelling?
According to the stories, it is because of the Americans that there is a good cultivation of cranberries on Terschelling. They always took many of the berries with them on their ships and in 1845 a few tons of them were said to have washed up on the island in the Wadden Sea. Beachcomber Pieter Sipkes Cupido found a few of those barrels and thought they contained spirits. He opened the barrels, but was extremely disappointed when there were berries inside. What he didn’t realize was that the berries could then develop into plants and start an entire industry on the island. Cranberries have been used for commercial cultivation since 1910. At first they were mainly exported to England, but nowadays the berry is also very popular in our own country and many of the berries and processed berries are sold in the Netherlands. The fact that the cranberry is healthy has increased its popularity. By the way, the cranberry can be found everywhere these days. Anyone on Terschelling will even see masks with cranberry and sambal with cranberry.
How many cranberries are grown on Terschelling
In 2011, there were around 50 hectares of cranberry cultivation in Terschelling. The harvest from those enormous areas varies enormously and depends on the climate. In a bad year it is several hundred kilos, but in good years more than 200 tons of cranberries are harvested. The berry is picked in September and October. The cranberry also grows on Vlieland.
Student slice on Terschelling refers to the discovery of the cranberry
In 1868, biology student Franciscus Holkema visited Terschelling for his graduation thesis and found the cranberry there. The study area where he gained all his knowledge about the cranberry still exists on Terschelling and is called Studentenplak there. The student was only 29 years old and therefore did not graduate. He died of tuberculosis.
The Cosmopolitan: cranberry with vodka
The Cosmopolitan, the drink from Sex and the City that the ladies often drank, is a cocktail with cranberry juice. The drink also contains vodka.