Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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17.01.2014 |
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Cranberries help immune system fight colds and flu
Little is known about the effects of cranberries on the immune system. The researchers suspect that they may well have an effect. In 2011 they published the results of a human study in which consumption of red grape juice activated the immune system. [J Med Food. 2011 Jan-Feb; 14(1-2): 69-78.] So might cranberry juice have the same effect?
During the flu season at the start of the year the researchers gave 22 subjects 450 ml cranberry juice and 23 others a placebo. The composition of the juice was the same as cranberry juice you can buy. The researchers then kept track of how often the subjects were ill in the ensuing 10 weeks.
The figure below shows that cranberry juice didn't prevent the subjects from getting flu or a cold, but it did reduce the gravity of the symptoms of viral infections. The sections with asterisks are the ones where the differences between the cranberry and the placebo group are statistically significant.
It looks as though cranberries boost the activity of natural killer [NK] cells.
What's more, the immune cells in the cranberry group produced more interferon-gamma after 10 weeks. Interferon-gamma is a protein that immune cells use to fight infections.
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