"Cranberry water" was served on the table in "Eugene Onegin", and they tried to cultivate the plant since the 18th century. What this berry will help with and why you should take a closer look at it.
NOTE: The article was checked and commented on by: Elena Zhuchkova, endocrinologist, nutritionist at SM-Clinic; Victoria Zalesova, PhD, endoscopist at GMS Hospital
What you need to know
Lingonberries are easy to include in your daily diet: they are great with meat dishes, ideal in pastries and desserts, go well with cheese and, as an ingredient, in salads. And thanks to its beneficial properties, it has long been classified as a superfood.
Nutrition and calories
100 g of fresh cranberries contain:
- 54 calories
- 2.5 g dietary fiber
- 11 mg vitamin C
- 1.75 mg vitamin A
- 1.60 mg of vitamin E.
- 2.00 g folic acid
- 22 mg L-ascorbic acid
- 89.0 mg potassium
- 20.0 mg calcium
- 9.00 mg magnesium
- 16.0 mg phosphorus
Benefit for health
Protects against oxidative stress
There is a lot of manganese in lingonberries. It is not only involved in a number of vital processes in the body, but is also a component of superoxide dismutase. This enzyme plays a key role in the antioxidant protection of cells from oxidative stress.
Cowberries also contain vitamins E and C, which are recognized as powerful antioxidants, have a positive effect on immunity and skin health.
The berry contains anthocyanins, flavonoids, and quercetin, which can reduce inflammation, blood pressure, and the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Helps GI health
As part of the experiment, the mice ate a high-fat diet for 11 weeks. They also added lingonberries to their diet. It turned out that the consumption of the berry increased the number of Akkermansia muciniphila bacteria, which maintains the intestinal mucosa.
Helps normalize weight
Lingonberries are considered a low-calorie food: there are only 24 calories per 100 grams. Therefore, it fits well into the diet of people who monitor weight and follow low-calorie diets.
In the experiment, mice were divided into two groups: one received only fatty foods, and the second was added to the diet of berries. The subjects from the first group gained significantly more body fat and weighed more than the rodents that ate the berries.
According to another study, lingonberries interfere with the action of an enzyme that is needed to process fat from food. Thus, undigested fat does not supply the body with calories. But for definitive conclusions, human studies are needed.
May lower blood sugar levels
A group of men were given yogurt with added sugar and 40 grams of lingonberry powder. After the study, it turned out that despite the fruit carbohydrates, the sugar and insulin of the subjects did not increase and remained at the same level when the group ate yogurt without powder.
Among women, another experiment was conducted: one group ate sugar, the other - sugar with pureed lingonberries. In both groups, insulin was measured, and in the second it was lower by 17% compared to the first.
Due to the fact that the level of insulin is regulated, and its jumps are minimal, sensitivity to this hormone is maintained and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes or obesity is reduced.
Affects the health of the heart and blood vessels
The fiber and polyphenols found in lingonberries help the heart and blood vessels work properly. Also, thanks to antioxidants, lingonberries can reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and prevent damage to heart cells from oxidative stress.
An experiment with mice that ate cranberries along with fatty foods showed that after three months of such a diet, their cholesterol level was 30% lower than that of the group that ate the same food, but without berries. In addition, those mice that ate the berries accumulated much less fat in their livers. But more information is needed for final conclusions.
Improves eye health
Preliminary studies indicate that lingonberry extract may protect retinal cells from free radical damage from both blue light and ultraviolet radiation due to its anthocyanin content. But more evidence is needed to confirm this.
Expert comments
Elena Aleksandrovna Zhuchkova, endocrinologist, nutritionist at SM-Clinic
What is better to combine lingonberries with and is there anything useful in sauces and jams from it?
From berries you can cook jam, jam, compotes, fruit drinks. Fresh berries are added to salads, where the beneficial properties of lingonberries are perfectly preserved, and a refreshing drink with honey is prepared. And one of the most famous ancient dishes is soaked lingonberries. Sauces and seasonings for meat and fish dishes are prepared from lingonberries. Best of all, the berry retains its properties in frozen and dried form.
How to choose the right berry if you buy in a store, what to look for?
When choosing lingonberries, you need to pay attention that the fruits are “filled” with bright red paint. Pale berries are not ripe. The fruits should be elastic, not softened.
Is it possible to replace lingonberry water with regular water, which is recommended to drink during the day?
Water from lingonberries is used to restore metabolism, it has proven itself well for arthritis and gout. Cowberry fruit water perfectly regulates blood pressure, improves cholesterol and blood clotting. Cowberry water perfectly strengthens the immune system.
Victoria Gennadievna Zalesova, PhD, endoscopist at GMS Hospital
Cowberries, with their low calorie content, have a great nutritional value: they contain a lot of vitamin C, useful minerals, fiber, pectin, which helps the intestines, as well as polyphenols, antioxidants that fight free radicals in body cells as a whole.
Lingonberries are considered a superfood and actually reduce the risk of many diseases. For example, a serving of fresh lingonberries provides 10% of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin E and 12% for vitamin C, which in turn helps fight viruses, bacteria and boost immunity. Lingonberries contain flavonoids that have anti-inflammatory properties and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Studies have shown that it has a positive effect on the intestinal microbiota and thereby not only optimizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, but also maintains a healthy intestinal mucosa.
Lingonberries are easy to consume every day. It goes well with meat dishes, for example in the form of sauces, ideal in desserts, it can be added to salads or just eat a portion of fresh berries for breakfast, for example with honey and cottage cheese.
Decoctions, fruit drinks, compotes from fresh or frozen lingonberries should definitely be drunk for colds, viral diseases, the more the better, since we already know that lingonberries have a powerful antioxidant effect, which means that they fight SARS at the cellular level.
It should be noted that there are conditions in which lingonberries can lead to an exacerbation of the disease. For example, with caution it is necessary to eat lingonberries with erosive and ulcerative problems of the stomach and intestines. In addition, with intestinal diverticulosis, multiple small hernias of its wall can also be "traps" for the hard peel of lingonberries and thereby cause inflammation of the intestinal wall. People with this diagnosis are recommended well-mashed lingonberries in fruit puree along with soft fruits, as well as strained decoctions and fruit drinks from berries and leaves of lingonberries.