Hope it's much much better.

hugs,
Gwen

She had John juice her some fruit and carrots for dinner... hope she feels better soon, too. -_-

Thank you, I'm doing fine today. The juice was great. Two apples, two oranges, a great big carrot and a cup of cranberries. So I drank my dinner last night which gave me some of the fluids I'm trying to put back and loads of nutrition.

Glad to hear you're feeling better today Susanne! (0)

Marti

Thanks Marti (grh)

And speaking of cranberries, from the Better Health for Better Living email newsletter:

The Mighty Cranberry


With Thanksgiving a mere week away, many of us already have cranberry sauce on the mind. But cranberries provide so many health benefits they belong on our menus all year 'round.

Most women already know about one wonder of the tart berry -- at least in its tart juice form. Cranberry juice is renowned for its miraculous ability to put the kibosh on urinary tract infections. For hundreds of years, it was a commonly accepted folk remedy. Then, about 10 years ago, science got involved and confirmed what we've known all along: Cranberries can treat and prevent UTIs. In fact, in the study, the women in the cranberry juice group got 58 percent fewer infections than the placebo group. By bumping up urine acidity and contributing some strong innate antibacterial agents, cranberries can knock bacteria right out of the picture.

These bright red berries have quite a bit more in their repertoire. For example, some lab studies have shown that a phytonutrient contained in cranberries can combat herpes simplex virus-2, which causes genital herpes. The antiviral compounds within the fruit actually keep that virus from attaching to other cells, and inhibits their ability to invade and conquer.

They can also help prevent kidney stones from forming. Quinic acid, plentiful in cranberries, acts in an extremely rare manner. Unlike other acids that break down in your body, quinic acid remains in full force all the way through. That extra acidity is enough to keep calcium and phosphate from coming together to form stones. This benefit has been confirmed in clinical studies, indicating that drinking cranberry juice is one of your best defenses against tremendously painful kidney stones.

Cranberries can also help you manage your blood cholesterol levels. Not only have human and animal studies demonstrated their ability to decrease LDL cholesterol, some have also shown that the juice can increase your HDL levels for a better overall blood cholesterol profile.

A very recent study indicates that taking cranberry powder daily can return blood vessels plagued by atherosclerosis back to normal states, at least in pigs. Cranberries seem to boost blood vessel functioning, crucial to lowering risk of deadly heart disease. Though people would need to take in a lot more of the powder to see similar results, researchers believe the benefits are there in polyphenol-rich cranberries for people, too.

And when it comes to antioxidants, you can't beat cranberries. Recent research revealed that these berries contain five times more antioxidants than broccoli, and they also contain the highest level of phenols (an antioxidant) in comparison to 19 other fruits. Antioxidant protection is often linked with cancer prevention, and this is no exception. Whole cranberries contain compounds proven to inhibit the growth of specific cancer cells, including prostate, breast, skin, brain, and lung.

That's a great article Susanne...maybe it explains why I like cranberries year round. I'm especially hungry for them now after reading that. I put the dried cranberries in salads for a nice little tang.

Marti

Ooohh, I never thought of dried ones in salads. I'll have to try that. Thanks for the great idea, Marti.

Marti is right ! The dried ones are soooo good in a salad. :rolleyes: Especially those like the ones at O'Charley's with the pecans and chicken tenders...

You're making my mouth water Jo! I used to carry dried cranberries, dried bananas, walnuts and chocolate chips when I was on meds for steroid induced Diabetes. That is one medicine I don't take any more, which was one of the benefits of switching from pred to HC.

l1wv Marti

I am eating a lot of dried fruit...apricots and papaya...for snacks and adding in nuts ... yummy!

Ocean Spray makes Craisins, sweetened dried cranberries. They look good.

http://www.oceanspray.com/prod_Craisins.asp

That's the brand I use...just looked at the package.

l1wv Marti

I never eat dried fruit - always think it's too high in calories but reading these posts may have changed my mind!!! :P

Gwen

It's really good stuff Gwen!

l1wv Marti

I think it is too , Marti! But Gwen if you substitute it for another less healthy snack it's not likely to cause weight gain...it is very satisfying. Lots of vitamins in it! :)