Fortified Cranberry Juice may improve heart health

Fortified Cranberry Juice may improve heart health

Sixty days of drinking cranberry juice fortified with the B-complex vitamin folic acid lowered homocysteine levels and raised adiponectin levels in 56 overweight people with metabolic syndrome; a cluster of conditions that include high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, high triglycerides and cholesterol and chronic inflammation. Adiponectin is connected to fat burning and improved insulin sensitivity while homocysteine is related to heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease according to the American Heart Association. The combination also reduced the level of lipid peroxidation; these rancid fats are a marker for heart disease. The study is published on line June 2013 in the British Journal of Nutrition.