Like most berries, cranberries have a whole list of useful elements, properties and qualities that make it a welcome guest on any dining table. But also with the development of dietetics, cranberries have found their new mass application as a product that is used for weight loss.

Cranberry Characteristics

Fresh cranberries

• Useful properties of fresh cranberries:
• Improves the work of the gastrointestinal tract;
• boosts immunity;
• strengthens and increases the elasticity of capillaries.

Frozen cranberries

• Useful properties of frozen cranberries:
• Rich in tannin, which is a natural antibiotic;
• normalizes the intestinal microflora, positively affects the digestion process.

Dried cranberries

Contraindications and side effects of cranberries

Due to the large amount of vitamin C in the berry, it has a very acidic taste and, if excessive in consumption, can greatly irritate the gastric mucosa, therefore, if a person is ill with an ulcer, high-acid gastritis, pancreatitis, it is highly undesirable for him to eat cranberries.

Did you know? Since the 80s, cranberry juice has been widely used in films as a blood substitute.

It is also forbidden to eat fruit if a person has kidney stones or gall bladder. But with low-acid gastritis or stoneless cholecystitis, cranberries just have a beneficial effect and can be prescribed as a supplement to the diet. It is also worth avoiding eating berries for problems with tooth enamel.

Cranberry side effects are not observed if you do not overdo it with quantity. Otherwise, it can result in indigestion and other discomfort in the gastrointestinal tract.

Cranberry Slimming

Let them not live on the berries themselves, but their beneficial effect on the body allows the use of cranberries as one of the main elements of food for weight loss. However, one must remember that it is necessary to observe the measure in the consumption of cranberries, otherwise it, on the contrary, can harm the body.

Special properties of cranberries for weight loss

If you are going to use this berry for weight loss, then it will not be out of place to learn about the special properties of cranberries, which make it an effective tool in achieving the desired result:

1. The fruit has excellent diuretic properties, which is not only used for various kidney diseases, but also has an additional positive effect in eliminating extra pounds.
2. Due to the high content of vitamins, the berry improves metabolism, helps the body better cope with various stressful situations, and favorably affects the emotional background. The latter can be very useful to people who experience negative emotions due to self-restriction in food.
3. Cranberries have a powerful preventive effect in terms of protection against the appearance of cholesterol plaques in the vessels.

The mechanism of action of cranberries

Due to the large number of pectins in the berry, normalization of the digestive processes occurs, a feeling of fullness appears faster. The latter is clearly not unimportant for those who find it very difficult to give up their favorite foods and products. Thanks to the action of pectins, hunger will pass faster, which will allow you to better tolerate a diet.

It should also be noted tannins, which accelerate the exchange of beneficial elements in the body that get there with food. Another strong beneficial effect is fiber, with which the body more effectively gets rid of toxins and waste.

Cranberry diet

Cranberries can be used as a food product in two forms - either fresh berry, or one that has undergone heat treatment - dried or dried.

Fresh

The most obvious use is to eat a handful of fruit before breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In this case, the phrase “a handful of fruits” should be taken literally - how many berries will fit in your palm, this amount will be optimal for you when eating.

Cranberry juice is also widely used in diets. A glass of such juice is recommended to drink before the main meal. You can also make cranberry salads or use it as an ingredient in making soup, but this is more likely to concern more delicacies when cooking than diet food.

Dried, dried

Mainly because of its high calorie content, dried fruit is not used as an element of the diet. Unless you can make light snacks, eating a handful of berries between the main meals.

Suitable as a small source of energy during work, when you need to give the body strength, but there is still no time for a full meal. It is also recommended for athletes as a small refueling during rest.

Application methods

There are several popular ways to use cranberry fruit during your diet. They help not only better absorb the rest of the food, but also allow you to use the beneficial qualities of the berries to the maximum.

Cranberry juice

This is ideal for those who find the fruit juice too sour. After making the fruit drink a glass of drink before meals.

To prepare a fruit drink you need:

1. In a standard 200 ml cup filled with cranberries, squeeze all the juice out of the fruits with a fork. The peel and stuff can be disposed of.
2. Next, add a tablespoon of either honey or rosehip syrup to the container.
3. Then dilute the resulting mixture with 3 liters of water and let it brew for a while.

Decoction

There are a lot of recipes for cranberry decoction, but not all of them are aimed at helping with weight loss, so only one that has a restorative effect on the body will be given, what will be important for stress for the body due to diet:

1. Take 1 cup cranberries, you can also add an equal amount of raisins, dried apricots, nuts and 1 whole lemon. Pass everything through a meat grinder.
2. Add a few tablespoons of honey to the resulting mixture and mix everything thoroughly.
3. Then the container with the product must be put in a cool place and stored there until you eat it.

The daily norm for adults is 1 tablespoon day and evening, for children - one dessert spoon twice a day. Let this not be a decoction in its classical sense, but such food will have a strong beneficial effect on the body both during the diet and simply when you are not doing your weight loss.

Soaked cranberries

Important! During infusion in a cold room, oppression cannot be removed.

The recipe is as follows:

1. First you need to sort out the available berries well, leaving only the ripe and juiciest ones. Then you need to soak them in containers with cold water for about 20 minutes.
2. After this, the cranberries should be washed under running water (if its quality allows or there is a filter. If not, then it is better to use table water purchased in a store) and let dry.
3. While the fruit dries, you should start preparing the fill. Depending on the amount of cranberries, prepare the right amount of water and add a few tablespoons of sugar and salt to it to your liking. You can also add cloves and / or allspice. Bring all this to a boil and keep in this state for about 4 minutes. In the future, you need to wait until the pouring has cooled to room temperature.
4. While pouring is cooling, prepare dishes for urination. It can be either glass jars or high-quality enameled dishes. When you have decided on the capacity, process it for a couple and put the berries in it. Fill everything with a fill. The container cannot be closed; instead, put a napkin or paper towel on the pop-up berries, and press everything down on top.
5. After that, remove the soaked cranberries in a dark place with room temperature. There the berry should be for 7 days. After this period, transfer the containers to a cold room for 3 weeks.

After you have completed all these procedures and the necessary time has passed, you can enjoy soaked cranberries.

Cranberry Diet

For those who do not want to limit themselves to simply including berries in their diet, nutritionists have come up with a special diet. It is aimed not only to lose weight, but also to keep the body healthy and energetic.

Important! For the best effect, make and follow a convenient nutrition schedule for you.

Since any diet is stressful, for many it becomes a problem that the body begins to fail and, as a result, performance decreases significantly. Cranberry diet also minimizes such risks.

Features

One of the main features of the cranberry diet is the obligatory use of either fruit drink or juice made from berries.. You need to drink it before each meal. Another feature is that with meals you do not need to be limited only to cranberries.

First of all, you need to make sure that the total calorie content of the food is reduced as a result of the exclusion of foods high in fat and carbohydrates from the diet. You also need to eat a small amount of berries before each meal.

Contraindications

Cranberry diet is not suitable for people suffering from ulcers, gastritis, kidney stones and gall bladder. Otherwise, active consumption of cranberries can lead to serious complications of these diseases.

And the immense consumption of berries by people with a healthy gastrointestinal tract can lead to heartburn, which will then annoy for a long time. Cranberry diet is also not recommended for people over 60 years old.

Sample menu for the week

This menu can be used both for 7 days and 10. Here it all depends on how the body responds to the diet. Remember, before each meal, drink a glass of cranberry juice or fruit drink and eat a handful of berries.

Menu:

1. Breakfast - oatmeal, a few spoons of dried apricots or raisins. You can add honey to taste. After eating, you can drink weakly brewed tea or coffee, eat a few lean cookies.
2. Second breakfast - 150-200 g of low-fat cottage cheese, with the addition of slices of fruit of your choice. You can drink it with weak tea or coffee.
3. Lunch - at this time you can afford stew and lean soup. The second is well suited for baked potatoes and a light salad of green vegetables.
4. Snack - some fruits, weak tea or coffee.
5. Dinner - boiled rice, low-fat boiled sea fish, a light salad of green vegetables, weak tea or coffee.

Exit the diet and save the result

After finishing the diet, you can gradually return to ordinary food, adding every few days those foods that you have refused. It is extremely important not to eat everything at once, otherwise you can get indigestion. After about 7-10 days, you should be back on your standard menu.

If you care about maintaining the result, then you need to remember that the cranberry diet itself is not a panacea for excess weight. And in the future, you need to observe moderation in the intake of fatty and fried foods, reduce the consumption of harmful foods, such as chips or crackers (if you do not want to completely abandon them), engage in simple physical education, such as daily walking and light gymnastic exercises. And after such work, the long-awaited effect of losing weight will not take long.

Did you know? The Latin name for cranberries literally translates as "sour berry."

The cranberry diet gained popularity in a short time and received praise from people who used it as a tool to put their weight in order. Cranberries are not only rich in vitamins, but also helps to normalize nutrition and improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Just remember - without your personal participation and sincere desire to get the desired figure, no berry, including cranberries, will not help.