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I’m sure you guys have heard of (or used!) pure cranberry juice to ward off a pesky urinary tract infection before. Although that’s what this bitter fruit is famous for, cranberry has a ton of other health benefits that research is only beginning to discover.

In fact, during the first clinical study of its kind, scientists found that people who drink a cup of cranberry juice 2x a day are three times more likely to ward off GUT infections – specifically the H. pylori bacteria – than those who do not.

Over the past few days, I had a chance to test this out firsthand thanks to a nasty case of food poisoning! It’s amazing how in tune with my body I’ve become after years of cleansing & healing… I knew something was up before my symptoms even began. First, my thoughts became anxious, scattered, and irrational (which yes – infections CAN cause, especially over time! Look on PubMed for research about how probiotics can eliminate stress hormone surges and modulate anxiety and depression. When “bad” bacteria gets a change to colonize, they release abnormal levels of trace amines and toxins into the blood. This tricks your brain into thinking it’s tired, depressed, anxious and stressed).

My next sign was a crowd of pimples popping up on my forehead in the ‘small intestine’ area (google the TCM acne map), which is exactly where I used to get pimples back when I had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The acne was directly connected to the IBS and an overgrowth of pathogens in my gut (which as you guys know, I was able to combat with Parapro and probiotics!)

Your body WILL tell you when something isn’t right, and sure enough within 12 hours I was married to the good old porcelain throne.

The first thing my body craved was cranberry juice, and since I had to rehydrate anyway I listened and picked up a bottle. I started researching to see if my craving held any wisdom, and sure enough it did! Studies show that cranberry can prevent bacteria from latching onto the mucosal surface of the gut the SAME way it stops bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract.

The tannins in cranberry appear to block bacteria without destroying them, which is crucial in our age of antibiotic resistance where we need to find another solution to disarming harmful pathogens.

I’ve been drinking 1/2 cup unsweetened pure juice, 4 times per day and I’m back on my feet in the office today. Although my food poisoning experience was acute and severe, millions of people are walking around with low-grade chronic infections that are causing mystery illness symptoms like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, IBS, and more. Consuming astringent foods like cranberry that act as natural antimicrobials can drastically lower our overall pathogen load little by little, day by day to heal our guts.

FOOD IS MEDICINE and every bite counts! x

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