Cranberry use dates back to the pre-colonial era when Native Americans used it as a food and medicine to treat a variety of ailments, such as appetite loss, digestive disorders, and bladder problems. It is now best known as a possible treatment to prevent urinary tract infections, or UTIs. There is insufficient information from human studies to recommend cranberry for any medicinal use. Consult with your doctor before using cranberry medicinally.
About UTI
UTIs are infections are typically caused by bacteria in the kidney, bladder and urethra, or the tube that connects the bladder to the outside of the body. Symptoms of a UTI include pain and burning on urination, a constant urge to urinate and foul smelling urine. In some people, UTIs tend to recur. Self-care activities to possibly prevent UTIs include drinking a lot of water and taking cranberry juice.
How Cranberry Works
Laboratory tests have shown that cranberry contains chemicals that may prevent bacteria from attaching to the bladder and other parts of the urinary tract. Cranberry is not as effective at removing bacteria from the urinary tract once they are attached, so it works best at preventing UTIs rather than treating them. Cranberry may also decrease the bad smell of your urine by reducing the number of bacteria and white blood cells in the urine.
Dosing
Pure cranberry juice in doses of 4 to 10 ounces, or 114 to 296 ml, per day has been shown to possibly help in treating and preventing recurrences of UTIs. You can take unsweetened or lightly sweetened cranberry juice in doses of several 16 oz., or 500 ml, glasses of daily. Cranberry juice is very sour, so the juice you by usually has added sweeteners. Buy the brand with the smallest amount of added sugar.
Effectiveness
Supplementing with cranberry juice may possibly help to prevent UTIs. A preliminary study published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in 1994, demonstrated that cranberry juice significantly decreased the amount of bacteria in the urinary tract of older women as compared to placebo, or inactive medicine. However, one small study evaluating cranberry juice effects on bacteria levels in the urine of children susceptible to a UTI did not show any benefits regarding recurrence of UTIs.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Cranberry
- National Institutes of Health: UTI
- DrugDigest.org: Cranberry
- PaloAltoMedicalFoundation.org: Cranberry
- "Journal of the American Medical Association"; Reduction of bacteriuria and pyruria after ingestion of cranberry juice; J Avorn, et al.; Mar 1994
- "The Journal of Pediatrics"; Effect of cranberry juice on bacteriuria in children with neurogenic bladder receiving intermittent catheterization; TA Schlager, et al.; Dec 1999
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