Everyday our body is bombarded with thousands of different types of toxins. We consume them either with food, water and air, we breathe. These toxic substances are cleaned naturally from our bodies by the liver.
There are many natural fruits and vegetables as well, which help in detoxification process. Cranberry is one such super food that is loaded with antioxidants and nutrients.
Oh..so you don’t know a thing about detox. Well, then know….
What is Detoxification?
Detoxification is the process of removing toxic substances from the body. It helps in maintaining good health in many ways:
- It brings about rejuvenation of the whole system. Problems like body aches, fatigue, allergies, digestive issues, etc. can all be solved with a good detox plan.
- It trains the body to lose weight by storing less fat and flushing out what is unnecessary.
- It regularizes sugar levels in the body and helps in maintaining it.
- It helps in dealing with addictions and regaining health of damaged organs.
Now, let’s learn more about cranberry juice detox. But the first question that pops up in everyone’s mind is….
Does Cranberry Juice Really Clean Your System?
Cranberry is a sweet-sour tasting, red–green colored, small and tart fruit. It is originated in the United States and Canada. It is harvested around September – October using the dry or wet method.
The more traditional wet method is done by flooding the fields and beating the plants. The healthy fruits float on water that is then collected to further processing. Dry method uses the combing machines to pick the fruit directly from the plant.
Cranberry is known for the characteristics those are a boon to human health. It is the best liver detox because of the abundant antioxidants present in it.
Phytonutrients present in cranberries can help in guarding against inflammation and protects against heart disease. The same compounds also improve your digestive system function.
However, very few studies exist to prove usefulness of cranberry for maintaining health of the liver. Scientist argue that the claims of cranberry being a super food and detoxification being a good way of maintaining health are baseless.
But here are some studies that can lead to the belief that cranberry is in fact nature’s gift to man.
- Published in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, June 2012 edition – Researchers found that liver was best protected by adding cranberry flavonoids to their preventative plan. They were testing different natural ingredients for their ability to save liver from injury by a recognized toxin.
- Published in Bio Factors, March-April 2011 edition – Researchers confirmed cranberry’s strong iron-chelating effect. They were exploring the mechanism behind cranberry’s antibacterial properties.
- Published in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, September 2006 edition – Scientists found that cranberry is anti-proliferative in liver tissue. It contains a potent antioxidant that helps in prevention of cellular damage and growth of cancer cells. They were assessing activity of antioxidants that cranberry contains.
Here are 8 Cranberry Juice Detox Recipes to Cleanse Your System
Before you start mixing, it is important to understand that there is no fixed quantity ought to be taken for a particular problem. There is no exact, proven science behind the measurements.
It is all about discovering your favorite composition along the way. You can eat cranberry with your dish or drink its juice for all health benefits.
1. Cranberry Detox Water
Probably the simplest and most fulfilling of all to cleanse your body of everyday waste. This is the best way to cultivate benefits of this fruit against cranberry juice available in the market.
Add half a cup of crushed cranberries to eight ounces of water and let it stand for 30 minutes. You can drink this once daily or little by little throughout the day. It hydrates your body along with detoxifying it in the process.
2. Cranberry & Kale Smoothie
This is a mix of two super foods that gives you a large portion of vital nutrients needed by your body in one go. The advantage of such a smoothie is that you don’t feel the taste of kale and get all its goodness.
Blend in half cup of cranberries, one fourth cup of blueberries, half cup of baby kale, half cup of coconut milk and ice in a mixer and drink it up.
These foods complement each other, one filling up for what the other is missing.
3. Cranberry Detox Cocktail
When cranberries are mixed with other fruits, it loses its tartness to a great extent. Also natural sweetness of other fruits makes the cocktail tasty, not to mention that you get additional benefits from the other fruits too.
You will need one fourth cup of cranberries and blueberries each, half a pear and eight ounces of water. You can do this in two ways.
Soak the fruits in water overnight or at least 30 minutes. Press them slightly to get just the watery juice and drink up. Or you could blend everything and drink it as a juice full of fiber and nutrition.
4. Cranberry Green Tea
Green tea and cranberries are both known to fight free radicals of the body. Both have been long researched for their use in fighting cancer and inflammation. Those are great at improving metabolism.
Different types of tea can be used as per your preference, starting from weight loss drinks to energy boosters. Use half a cup of crushed cranberries and one cup of brewed green tea.
Pour the brewed green tea over the crushed cranberries and let it stand for 3 minutes. Strain them and drink warm tea.
5. Cranberry – Infused Detox Smoothie
This smoothie blends in the goodness of different fruits and takes care of your taste buds as well. Mango and orange are a tasteful addition and coconut milk helps you avoid dairy (enhancing benefits of detox).
And of course there are the antioxidants and added nutrients to make it a dream detox as ever.
Take half cup of cranberries, one fourth cup of mango, one stalk celery, half orange and half cup coconut milk. Blend everything together to a smooth consistency. Use frozen mango if you want to enjoy it cool. You can also add half a cup of ice if the mango isn’t frozen.
6. Berry Detox Juice
You can start your day with a glassful of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals with this drink. Berries are all full of goodness that add energy and freshness to your mornings.
Juice up one fourth cup of cranberries, raspberries of blackberries, and blueberries each. Add half a cup of coconut water to this and blend it well. Keep the fibers together to benefit from it. You can also store this to consume later.
7. Apple Cranberry Juice Detox
Apple contains pectin that perks up digestion, which is a concern during detoxification. This drink contains natural sweetness of the apple and also all the necessary nutrient required by the body during a day.
Choose the variety of apple you like and let it be organic. Blend the half and apple with half cup cranberries and eight ounces of water. Let it have the consistency of a juice.
You can chop the apple before adding them to the blender. Drink this daily to maintain good health.
8. Cranberry Spice Detox
This is an Ayurvedic recipe that has been used for ages due to its health benefits. Liver function and inflammation are both handled in one go with this drink.
You would need half cup cranberries crushed, one teaspoon of turmeric powder, half a teaspoon of cumin seeds, half a teaspoon of fennel seeds and one cup water. Bring the water to boil pour it over the spices.
Wait for 1 minute and then pour spice infused water over the crushed cranberries. Wait for another minute and then strain it.
This makes a wonderfully tasty drink that you can customize as per your taste. Along with the taste buds, internal organs would love this drink.
Words of Caution Before Starting Cranberry Juice Detox
When shopping for cranberries to use in the above recipes you should go for organic fresh fruit that is free from pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides.
Cranberry is commonly used to cleanse the impurities of body and toxins that result from alcohol or marijuana drug abuse.
A regular use over a long period of time shows remarkable results. But it cannot be used as a quick fix to hide THC metabolites for passing a marijuana drug test.
There are some issues related to this fruit that you must know before you start using it in your daily diet.
- Cranberries are naturally very tart and sour. For Juices and other common recipes add sugar and some preservatives to increase its palatability and shelf-life. These additives make it harmful for obesity or high sugar level problems. Therefore, it is advisable to use fresh fruit with little or no sugar to gain the most from it.
- Cranberry contains high levels of oxalates that should be avoided by people suffering from kidney stone problems.
- Cranberry can be harmful for people on warfarin dosage (a blood thinning medication), although there are no studies to prove this.
Cranberry fruit is beautiful red powerhouse of antioxidants and nutrients. Make it a part of your daily diet and let its benefits shape your body systems.
