Ocean Spray Cranberries Make the Holiday Season Healthier Beyond the Mashed Potatoes and Gravy is a Healthy -- and Delicious -- Accompaniment to Your Holiday Meals LAKEVILLE-MIDDLEBORO, Mass., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- What better way to enjoy the holidays than savoring a good meal? What if you could make it healthy as well? By incorporating Ocean Spray cranberries into your holiday meals, you will be benefiting not only from their great flavor, but also their great health benefits. Cranberries and cranberry juice are natural ways to prevent a common problem, urinary tract infections (UTIs). The connection between cranberries and urinary tract health is longstanding. Research shows that approximately 50 percent of all women have had a UTI by their late twenties and 25 percent of all women who have had a UTI will have a recurrence within six months. Researchers have made recent breakthroughs around the prevention of UTIs including how cranberry juice works to promote health. "Research tells us that cranberry juice can help prevent UTIs, and is helping us better understand exactly how it works and how consumers can benefit," said Dr. Amy Howell, a researcher at Rutgers University. "We found that the process starts working two hours after consuming cranberry juice, and the effect lasts up to ten hours. Therefore, consuming a serving of juice in the morning and another one in the evening provides the best defense against the bacteria." It was once widely thought that cranberries helped maintain urinary tract health by acidifying the urine, but scientists later discovered the anti- adhesion properties of the cranberry are what prevent the bacteria from "sticking" in the urinary tract and causing infection. In 1998, researchers at Rutgers University identified these "anti-stick" components as proanthocyanidins. Research has also shown that cranberry may offer protection against antibiotic-resistant bacteria that cause UTIs. Findings published in a research letter to the editor in the June 19, 2002 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association found that cranberry juice cocktail prevented 80 percent of all bacteria, including antibiotic resistant bacteria, from sticking to the urinary tract. This research could reduce the potential for development of UTIs, thus decreasing the need for antibiotics. Here are some creative ways to bring the health benefits of cranberries to the holiday table: * As an alternative to serving regular cranberry sauce, mix one package of chopped fresh cranberries or two cans Ocean Spray(R) Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce, one diced orange and 3/4 cup toasted nuts in a food processor. Sweeten to taste if needed. * Melt a 16 oz. can of jellied cranberry sauce and 1/2 cup chocolate chips over medium heat. Stir until smooth and serve over poached fruit or low fat ice cream for a different dessert. * Serve guests a cranberry cocktail such as a Cosmopolitan. Just mix 11/2 oz. of quality vodka, 3/4 oz. of Cointreau or Triple Sec, 11/2 tsp. of lime juice and 3/4 oz. of Ocean Spray(R) Cranberry Juice Cocktail. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass and enjoy! * Entice the kids with a Delightful Cranberry Lemonade by mixing ten ounces of Ocean Spray(R) 100% Premium Cranberry Juice Blend with five ounces of lemonade. Cranberry juice cocktail is a food, not a drug, nor should it be used in place of a drug. Anyone who suspects an infection should always consult a physician. Cranberry juice cocktail should not be used as a treatment for infection, but may be an effective part of maintaining urinary tract health. Ocean Spray(R) is the number-one brand of canned and bottled juice drinks in the U.S., with 2002 sales of just over $1 billion. Formed in 1930, the cooperative is made up of cranberry growers from Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and other parts of Canada, as well as Florida grapefruit growers. Visit us at http://www.oceanspray.com/. DATASOURCE: Ocean Spray CONTACT: Sharon Newcomb, +1-508-946-7185, or Jill Tobacco, +1-617-520- 7052 both of Ocean Spray Web site: http://www.oceanspray.com/

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