Cranberry
Vaccinium macrocarpon

This tart red berry has gained a strong reputation for making many women's lives a little easier. Since the mid-1800s, drinking or eating cranberries has been a popular measure used by people for maintaining a healthy urinary tract. First it was discovered that cranberries increased levels of "hippuric acid" in the urine, and scientists theorized that this acid helped maintain a healthy microbial balance. More recent research indicates that cranberries may inhibit certain microorganisms from adhering to epithelial cells lining the urinary tract. Whatever the reason . . . as women have been telling each other for more than a hundred years, it works.

Commonly called: cranberries