Historically, cranberry juice has been used by Native Americans as a food and medicine to treat bladder problems. Today, it continues to be used to maintain overall bladder health by helping to prevent bladder infections, deodorizing urine in people who have problems with controlling urination, increasing urine flow to eliminate bacteria from the bladder, and to kill germs. As with any supplement, consult a qualified health-care provider before using cranberry for medical reasons.
About Bladder Health
Your bladder stores urine and, when it is full, it pushes the urine out of your body through a tube called the urethra. Bacteria can enter the urethra and get into your bladder, where they can sometimes cause infections, called urinary tract infections or UTIs. Natural self-care activities that may help maintain a healthy bladder include drinking lots of fluid to cleanse the bacteria from your bladder, urinating frequently and drinking cranberry juice.
How Cranberry Works
Cranberry juice contains substances that may prevent bacteria from attaching to the wall of the bladder. Test tube studies have shown that cranberry prevents E. coli, the most common bacteria causing bladder infections, from attaching to cells that line the bladder, according to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. This action may possibly prevent infections from occurring in the bladder. Cranberry may also increase the acid in your urine so bacteria cannot grow easily.
Dosing
Drink 4 to 10 oz., or 114 to 296 ml, of pure cranberry juice per day to possibly maintain bladder health and prevent UTIs. Cranberry juice taken in daily doses of several 16-oz., or 500 ml, glasses approximates the effect of 800 mg of cranberry extract per day for preventing prevent bladder infection. Cranberry juice cocktail contains approximately 26 to 33 percent pure cranberry juice that is sweetened with added sugar or artificial sweetener.
Effectiveness
Results of research evaluating the effects of cranberry juice for preventing UTIs and maintaining bladder health are mixed. According to a study published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in 1994, cranberry juice significantly decreased the amount of bacteria in the urinary tract of older women as compared to placebo. However, in another study published in the "Journal of Pediatrics" in 1999, cranberry juice did not significantly lower the amount of bacteria the urine.
References
- National Institutes of Health: Cranberry
- National Institutes of Health: UTI
- PaloAltoMedicalFoundation.org: Cranberry
- "Journal of the American Medical Association"; Reduction of Bacteriuria and Pyruria After Ingestion of Cranberry Juice; J. Avorn, et al.; March 1994
- "The Journal of Pediatrics"; Effect of Cranberry Juice on Bacteriuria in Children With Neurogenic Bladder Receiving Intermittent Catheterization; T.A. Schlager, et al.; December 1999
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