once a nurse...

Nursing (the profession, as in Registered Nurse - Kate Tramma, RN, BSN) is a permanent change to one's brain. Although I am a stay-at-home-and-loving-it Mommy, my brain still works like a nurse's, with the constant desire to assess and teach. So today I was having my glass of Light Cranberry Juice (1/3 calories!) and thinking what a great preventative. How many other people, especially women, know of the simple and wonderful benefits? How many other little tidbits are there from which other women could benefit? SO every once in a while I will throw out a little advice that could help. Not everyone will care, and a lot of people probably already know this stuff. But on days like today, when I have down-time and not a lot of motivation I will fill up my blog entry with random advice from a nurse. :)

Cranberry Juice: Cranberries have gotten a lot of attention in the health-food world in the past few years. Just buy a package and it says "Little berry, Big benefits!" Why? Well, antioxidants, like most berries. But cranberries are unique, and the benefits can be gotten from one glass of juice a day, or every couple of days. note: please don't be tempted to overdo it - too much juice gives unnecessary calories, increases dental caries. Really, just a little goes a long way. Which is another reason I like the "light" variety, of course.
UTIs: every woman knows what that stands for, and those with kids or pregnant cringed just now reading it. lol, at least I do when I hear it. So there is a special chemical compound in cranberries that inhibits bacteria adhering to the urinary tract. This, with plenty of water helps the body flush out bacteria, preventing an infection.
Fat: Nope, not a miracle weight-loss solution! However, it does help emulsify fats, so it can, to a certain degree, attack fat cells stored in the body. If you are drinking enough to add 300 Cal/day, it doesn't help...
Infections: In 2002 there was a study that suggests that cranberry may inhibit a certain strain of bacteria (Haemophilus influenzae) that commonly causes respiratory and ear infections especially in kids. I'm not sure how much weight to put on this one, so take it with a grain of salt. It's just a theory out there, so don't swear by it.

I love advice of this nature, so that's why I decided to share with anyone who reads my blog. I know this may be old news to some, but if people are at all interested, I will keep adding health update posts. It's one way to keep me fresh in the medical world, too.