HEALTH BENEFITS FOUND IN CRANBERRY JUICE

Researchers have found that drinking three glasses a day of cranberry juice significantly raises levels of "good cholesterol" in the blood and increases plasma antioxidant levels, reducing the risk of heart disease. Joe Vinson, Ph.D., the study's main investigator and a professor of chemistry at the University of Scranton, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, measured cholesterol levels in subjects with high cholesterol, followed by monthly samplings. Ten of the subjects were given cranberry juice with artificial sweetener but without high-fructose corn syrup, while the other subjects drank cranberry juice with no added sugars. All the drinks tested contained approximately 27 per cent pure cranberry juice by volume, like the common supermarket variety. While there were no changes in overall cholesterol levels, good cholesterol (high density lipoprotein, or HDL) appeared to significantly increase by an average of 10 per cent after three servings of juice per day, an increase that translates to an approximate 40 percent reduction in heart disease risk.

If you don't like cranberry juice, drinking three cups of orange juice per day similarly increases levels of good cholesterol, but unlike cranberry juice, it doesn't increase increase plasma antioxidant capacity, says Vinson. Grape juice, another breakfast favorite, increases plasma antioxidant capacity but appears to lower the level of good cholesterol, according to another study by Vinson.