Cranberries Stop Bacteria In Their Tracks

[xchrom]

http://www.livescience.com/41580-cranberries-stop-bacteria-in-their-tracks.html

?1385579880
Research adds a new dimension to cranberries' possible effect on urinary tract infections.

***SNIP

Bacteria on the move

A key factor in a bacterium's ability to infect a host cell is its motility, or how well it can move around. For some types of bacteria, their motility depends in part on their whip-like appendages known as flagella. The flagella allow the bacteria to swim around and, in some cases, actually swarm. The more bacteria can move, the more virulent they can become. This is especially the case in bacteria that cause urinary tract infections.

"Motility is actually a really important factor in infection," said Nathalie Tufenkji, a chemical engineer at McGill University. "It helps the bacteria spread up the urinary tract. It helps them also infect the cells."

Tufenkji and her colleagues were interested in discovering what the compounds in cranberries did to certain bacteria's gene expression.

They took E. coli that had been isolated from the urinary tract and exposed it to different concentrations of cranberry powder. They saw that when the cranberry powder was present, the E. coli's ability to swim and swarm dramatically decreased.

"When they swim and they swarm, what they are using? Well, they're using the flagella. So we said, OK, it must be affecting somehow the flagellum," explained Tufenkji.

[woo me with science]

1. +100000 Unfortunately, "cranberry juice" under Big Food

is now mainly water and high-fructose corn syrup, or apple juice with some cranberry flavor added.

If you want the real stuff, you have to hunt for it, and you pay through the nose.

[xchrom]

2. yeah you do -- i drink it cause i've had kidney stones.

i drink the real stuff -- makes me piss like a race horse.

the UTI stuff i don't know from.

[msongs]

3. easy to make at home....

cover fresh/frozen whole cranberries with water, cook til they pop. drain. if you mash the berries while draining the juice will be more cloudy and have more pulp. cool and sweeten to taste. add a bit of orange or lemon if u wish. thin with added water to taste. pour over ice cubes which will melt and thin the juice. yummy

[teenagebambam]

4. Does it still work with vodka added?

Asking for a friend

[xchrom]

5. Tell your friend: everything works better with vodka. Nt

[brer cat]

6. Does it work baked in a pie?

Apple-cranberry crisp...yum!

[eppur_se_muova]

7. NA's added them to pemmican ... loaded with antioxidants and fruit acids ...

it stopped meat from spoiling.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/11/131127-cranberries-thanksgiving-native-americans-indians-food-history/