Cranberries have medicinal qualities

TEL AVIV , Israel, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Many know cranberry juice can help prevent urinary tract infections, but an Israeli researcher says the tart berry has other medicinal qualities.

Itzhak Ofek of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine in Israel, who has studied the cranberry for 20 years, says cranberry juice exhibits anti-viral properties against the flu, can prevent cavities and lessens the reoccurrence of gastric ulcers.

However, research published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, suggests that the healing power of cranberries may apply only to women.

Cranberries have a molecule known as non-dialyzable material, or NDM, that seems to coat some bodily surfaces with Teflon-like efficiency, preventing infection-causing agents from taking root.

Ofek and Dr. Haim Shmuely of Beilinson Hospital and Tel Aviv University found cranberry also inhibits two-thirds of the "unhealthy" bacteria that clings to gastric cells, which lead to ulcers.

Ofek's recommends women drink two glasses a day of cranberry juice to treat certain infections, but since "there is still so much we don't know about cranberries, I would suggest that men also drink two glasses a day."