A 2004 "American Family Physician" review reported that 11 million women are treated for urinary tract infections, or UTIs, every year in the United States, making the UTI one of the most common conditions encountered by physicians. UTIs are far less common in men than women, although older men with prostate enlargement have more UTIs than younger men. Many individuals use home remedies to treat or prevent UTIs, and cranberry products are among the most popular. However, cranberry juice has not been proven effective for treating UTIs.
Bacterial Adhesion Initiates UTIs
Most urinary tract infections begin when bacteria, such as E. coli, adhere to the lining of your bladder and begin replicating. Bacterial invasion of your bladder wall leads to the symptoms that typically accompany a UTI, including urinary frequency, urgency and burning. If left untreated, a bladder infection can ascend through the urinary tract and involve your kidneys. Cranberry juice effectively prevents adhesion of bacteria to the bladder lining, as demonstrated by a 2006 "World Journal of Urology" study.
Prevention or Treatment?
It was once thought that cranberry juice acidified your urine, and this was believed to create a hostile environment for bacteria. Hence, many people believed that cranberry juice could be used to treat UTIs. However, it now seems clear that cranberry products do not effectively eradicate an established infection, as was pointed out in a 2007 "Drugs of Today" review. Once bacteria have attached to the bladder lining, cranberry preparations are not particularly effective for treating UTIs. They may offer a useful alternative for people who suffer from recurrent infections but who do not want to take antibiotics on a daily basis.
Cranberry Not Useful for Kidney Infections
For the same reasons that cranberry juice is not effective for treating established bladder infections, it should not be used to treat a kidney infection, which represents a far more serious condition than a bladder infection. Kidney infections usually result from untreated bladder infections that have ascended through the urinary tract. Improperly or incompletely treated kidney infections can lead to sepsis, or "blood poisoning," kidney failure and even death.
Considerations and Recommendations
As exemplified by a 2009 trial in "The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy," multiple studies have demonstrated that cranberry products offer a reasonable, safe alternative to long-term antibiotic therapy for people who suffer from recurrent UTIs, although cranberry is not yet approved in the U.S. for this purpose. You should not expect any cranberry product to successfully eradicate an established bladder or kidney infection. The dosage of cranberry juice for UTI prevention has not been established. Although some authors recommend 8 oz. of unsweetened juice daily, doses from 4 oz. to over a quart per day have been used in studies. Daily doses of 250 to 500 mg of cranberry extract have also been effective. If you suffer from recurrent UTIs, talk to your doctor about cranberry products.
References
- "American Family Physician"; Cranberry for Prevention of Urinary Tract Infections; D.M. Lynch; December 2004
- "World Journal of Urology"; Reduction of Escherichia coli Adherence to Uroepithelial Bladder Cells after Consumption of Cranberry Juice: A Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Cross-Over Trial; P. DiMartino; February 2006
- "Drugs of Today"; Cranberry Juice for the Prevention and Treatment of Urinary Tract Infections; V.M. Santillo, F.C. Lowe; January 2007
- "The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy"; Cranberry or Trimethoprim for the Prevention of Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections? A Randomized Controlled Trial in Older Women; M.E. McMurdo, et al.; February 2009
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