Among the products there are real champions in healing and dietary abilities. One of them is cranberry. No one needs to prove how useful this berry is. It perfectly quenches thirst and treats colds, but for those who are struggling with excess weight, it is much more important to know how many calories are in cranberries. The answer will definitely not disappoint you!
Doctor Cranberry: a berry that will protect against illnesses
For Russians, cranberries are their original product. It is often called “swamp grapes,” although in terms of beneficial properties it is far superior to this berry. Taste qualities raw cranberries are not too high. It has a sour and bitter taste, for which it was given another name - “northern lemon”. But in dishes (pies, mousses, jelly) it is simply magnificent.
One more thing should be noted unique property, which cranberries have: its calorie content is so scanty that it is suitable for most diets, and even helps in weight loss.
What is the calorie content?for fresh, dried and frozen cranberries?
In addition to their bright scarlet color and sour taste, fresh cranberries differ from many other berries in their high vitamin content and low calorie content. How many of them the cranberry will reward depends on the method of its processing. Energy value of these berries (per 100 g) is as follows:
- fresh berries – 26-28 kcal;
- dried (dried) – 308 kcal;
- frozen – 17 kcal.
Thus, for those who decide to lose weight, a natural and frozen product is more suitable, but dried cranberries, whose calorie content is 11 times higher than that of fresh berries! Drying robs the gift of bogs and gardens of its dietary abilities and transforms it from a low-calorie to a super-nutritious food.
Is it possible to ruin your figure with cranberry dishes?
If you look at how many calories are in the beloved dried cranberries, then natural suspicions will arise: aren’t dishes prepared from these berries just as high-calorie? When they cease to be an independent dish, but turn into an ingredient, their calorie content becomes as follows:
- cranberry juice– 46 kcal;
- fruit drink – 41.08 kcal;
- jelly – 53 kcal;
- mousse – 140 kcal;
- sauce – 101 kcal;
- cranberry smoothie – 21 kcal;
- cranberries in sugar – 187 kcal;
- cranberry pie – 390 kcal.
Gourmet diet: how to lose weight on cranberries?
The calorie content of cranberries (if we are talking about fresh berries) is only 26 kcal or 1% of the daily value, so it is used in dietetics. There is a special cranberry diet. It is very simple: in the morning (before meals) drink a glass cranberry juice, and before each meal, also eat a handful of berries or drink fruit juice. For such a nutritional system to give results, you should adjust your diet: exclude fatty and fried foods and at lunch eat a portion of sauerkraut.
A little about the benefits
It is wrong to consider cranberries solely from the standpoint of low calorie content. After all, this is a very healthy berry, a recognized healer. It has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antiscorbutic effects. Helps with sore throat, pharyngitis. It has a positive effect on the functioning of the kidneys and bladder, and prevents the formation of stones. It “works” as an antipyretic and enhances the effect of antibiotics. Being a real storehouse of vitamins, cranberries become a natural preventative against colds.
It is useful to eat berries for those who suffer from high blood pressure and who have a predisposition to glaucoma. “Swamp grapes” also found a place in dermatology. It is recommended to be taken for psoriasis, allergic rashes and baldness.
Who doesn't like cranberries?
Not for everyone, the berry can be an assistant in acquiring a “wasp” waist. The cranberry menu is not suitable for those over 60. The berry is contraindicated for people with high stomach acidity. If strong teeth are as important to you as a model figure, then it’s better not to get carried away with cranberries. The acids it contains can destroy tooth enamel. The berry can also cause heartburn.
Cranberry (Oxycoccus)
Description
Cranberry is an evergreen creeping shrub of the heather family. It has flexible thread-like stems from 15 to 30 cm long, with narrow oblong leaves, ash-white below. The flowers are light purple, facing downwards and “inverted”. The cranberry fruit is a berry, round or elongated, red in color and sour in taste.
Spreading
The generic name of cranberry is translated from Latin as “sour ball.” There are 4 types of cranberries all over the world, which grow in the tundra, forest-tundra and forest zones in Europe, Asia, and North America (American species are distinguished by especially large fruits).
There are two common types of this plant in our country - small-fruited and marsh cranberries, and some types of marsh cranberries also have fairly large fruits.
Application
Just like viburnum, you need to pick cranberries when slightly frostbitten. Kvass, fruit drinks, pie fillings, jam are made from cranberries, sour berries are added to salads, sauces, and pureed with sugar. Cabbage pickled with cranberries, cranberries in sugar, Cranberry Sauce for fish or meat - all these recipes have long become classics of culinary art.
It is best to store cranberries in the form raw jam or frozen.
Composition and properties
Cranberries are one of the healthiest wild berries. Cranberries contain vitamins C, PP, K, B1, B2, many organic acids, micro- and macroelements, flavonoids, sugars, pectin, coloring, nitrogen, tannins, and phytoncides. The high content of benzoic acid allows you to store cranberries without adding preservatives, without exposing them to heat treatment, for a long time.
Cranberry is a powerful natural healing agent. It has the ability to resist infections due to its high concentration of tannin, and also enhance the effect of drugs. Therefore, it is used in the treatment of gynecological diseases, to prevent the formation of kidney stones, as a means of increasing vitality, improving appetite and pancreatic secretion. Cranberries are used to treat colds and diseases of the genitourinary system; it is a good diuretic. Cranberry juice is useful for gastritis with low acidity of gastric juice, obesity, and colitis.
Cranberries in the form of juices, fruit drinks, extracts, infusions with honey are used for hypertension, malaria, anemia, rheumatism, tonsillitis, atherosclerosis, vascular spasms, headaches, dropsy. Cranberries contain many antioxidants that reduce the level of “bad” cholesterol in the blood, and also have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
Cranberry juice quenches thirst well and reduces fever during colds and flu.
IN folk medicine Cranberry is considered an antidote for poisoning by poisonous plants.
A berry like cranberry grows mainly in swampy areas. Distributed in many countries. Exists great amount There are only 22 varieties of berries in Karelia. Cranberries are also universal. It is used to prepare:
- salads - goes well with fresh crispy vegetables;
- drinks (juice, fruit drink, jelly) - has a pronounced taste;
- desserts (jelly, pies, jam) - gives the dish a sour note.
Composition and calorie content of cranberries
Cranberries are a low-calorie product - 46 kcal. There are practically no proteins and fats: 0.39 g, 0.13 g. Carbohydrates are also present in small quantities - 7.6 g. Cranberries are eaten fresh, frozen for the winter and even dried. In dried form, the calorie content of the berry reaches 308 kcal - this product contains practically no water.
Cranberries contain a wide variety of vitamins: C, representatives of group B, PP, K1. There is a lot of potassium in the berry. There is phosphorus, calcium, and 20 more micro- and macroelements. Together they improve digestion. And cranberry juice can be used as an antipyretic.
Cranberries are rich in vitamins and mineral composition. Its composition is represented by vitamins B1, B2, B6, C, E, PP, minerals calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus.
Calorie content of dried cranberries per 100 grams is 307.9 kcal. In 100 g of product:
- 0.1 g protein;
- 1.4 g fat;
- 76.6 g carbohydrates.
Dried cranberries are saturated with vitamins B, E, C, PP, minerals manganese, sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, selenium, iron, magnesium. Due to the large amount of easily digestible carbohydrates, the product is contraindicated when losing weight and during a diet.
Calorie content of dried cranberries per 100 grams
The calorie content of dried cranberries per 100 grams is 280 kcal. Per 100 gram serving:
- 2.6 g protein;
- 0.55 g fat;
- 57 g carbohydrates.
Proven beneficial features dried cranberries for the prevention of metabolic disorders, diathesis, and colds. Due to the saturation of fast carbohydrates, dried berries will have to be abandoned in case of inflammatory processes in the stomach, liver, pancreas, and intestines.
Calorie content of cranberries in sugar per 100 grams
The calorie content of cranberries in sugar per 100 grams is 188 kcal. In a 100 gram serving of sweets:
- 0.2 g protein;
- 0 g fat;
- 48.8 g carbohydrates.
To prepare cranberries in sugar you need:
- thoroughly rinse 100 g of fresh berries;
- cook sugar syrup by dissolving 50 g of sugar in 2 tablespoons of water and bringing the resulting mixture to a boil;
- the cranberries are dipped on each side in the resulting warm syrup and then quickly rolled into powdered sugar(in total you will need 65 g of powder);
- the berries are dried.
Calorie content of frozen cranberries per 100 grams
The calorie content of frozen cranberries per 100 grams is 18 kcal. In a 100-gram serving of berries:
- 0.5 g protein;
- 0 g fat;
- 3.9 g carbohydrates.
It should be remembered that when cranberries are frozen, they lose a significant portion of their vitamins and minerals. This product is widely used for making cakes, pies, pies and other sweet flour products.
Benefits of cranberries
The following benefits of cranberries are known:
- cranberries are rich in vitamin C, which is necessary to strengthen the immune system and prevent colds;
- Regular consumption of fresh berries reduces the risk of developing varicose veins and hemorrhoids;
- cranberry amino acids are necessary to maintain vascular elasticity;
- some studies have confirmed the beneficial properties of the berry for preventing stomach cancer;
- cranberry compresses are used to reduce pain symptoms from headaches;
- Cranberry ointments for treating burns are highly effective;
- cranberry juice tones and rejuvenates the skin.
Harm of cranberries
You will have to stop eating cranberries if:
- individual intolerance to berries;
- tendency to food allergies;
- during breastfeeding and childhood up to 3 years;
- if the acidity of gastric juice is increased;
- for dental diseases: cranberries are saturated with acids that destroy tooth enamel. That is why it is recommended to rinse your mouth with water after eating the berries.
