It will be going on millions of Christmas dinners – and there are plenty of reasons you should be one of them
A small pot of sauce often found at the dinner table on Christmas Day could be a tasty—and healthy—addition to your meal.
We’re talking about ranberry sauce which is a traditional staple this time of year that’s also quite affordable. You could have picked up a 200g pot for as little as 49p from Aldi in the lead-up to Christmas.
Cranberries, by nature, have dozens of health benefits, from healthier-looking skin to stronger vision and more. When blitzed into a handy sauce, those perks become easier to add to your diet than a handful of plain berries.
For those aiming to watch their cholesterol levels, the festive season can be a literal minefield of fatty and indulgent foods. High cholesterol is predominantly caused by a poor diet as well as not getting enough exercise.
Smoking, drinking alcohol and being overweight are also recipes for disaster. But, some simply fall foul of it running in their family.
However, balance is the key. Having a dollop of cranberry sauce with your festive roast dinner could help counteract some damage.
This is because experts have established links between the power of cranberries and how they react to cholesterol. A study found that cranberry supplements significantly reduced LDL (sometimes called ‘bad’ cholesterol), and another found similar effects of lowered LDL with women who drank cranberry juice.
It doesn’t just work one way though, as a piece of 2019 research found cranberry supplements may improve HDL, known as the ‘good’ cholesterol. Our bodies need HDL to help remove excess cholesterol from the body and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Away from cholesterol, cranberries have many more benefits. They’re packed with antioxidants and have also been proven as one of the best food sources of ursolic acid, a plant compound with potential anti-cancer effects.
Some research suggests cranberries may also help protect our skin as natural collagen production slows down (roughly dipping as we enter our 30s). They also have high levels of carotenoids, including beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A for healthy skin, eyes and a strong immune system.
