Cranberry use dates back to Native American Indians who used it as both a food and a medicine to treat urinary problems. Today, cranberry is available as a supplement in pill form, including capsules and tablets, and is commonly marketed for use in preventing recurrent urinary tract infections. However, the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, reports that cranberry may increase your risk of developing kidney stones. Consult with your doctor before taking cranberry medicinally.
How It Works
Cranberry has some beneficial medicinal properties. It contains substances that prevent bacteria from attaching to the walls of your bladder and causing an infection. This makes cranberry useful for preventing urinary tract infections, or UTIs. Cranberry is also a good source of vitamin C and is rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants work to counteract particles in your body, called free radicals, which cause damage to the cells in your body.
Dosing
You can take six cranberry 300 mg or 400 mg pills per day in divided doses, says the University of Maryland Medical Center. The duration of treatment for cranberry pills to prevent UTIs varies. One research study tested cranberry capsules over a three-month period. Other UTI prevention trials used six 400 milligram cranberry capsules daily in divided doses for up to 13 months.
Kidney Stone Danger
Cranberries have chemicals called oxalates, which may play a role in the development of kidney stones. One study published in the journal "Urology" in 2001 showed that oxalate levels in the urine of people taking cranberry pills increased by 43 percent after seven days. The NIH states that kidney stones mostly contain oxalate and calcium and taking cranberry pills may increase your risk of developing kidney stones. Avoid cranberry pills if you have a history of kidney stones.
Other Concerns
The NIH states that cranberry is generally safe for most people. However, if you have an aspirin allergy, you should not take cranberry because cranberry contains a substance called salicylic acid which is similar to aspirin. Also, avoid cranberry if you take the blood thinning medicine called warfarin because cranberry may affect how it works in your body and increase your risk of bruising and bleeding.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Cranberry
- National Institutes of Health: Cranberry
- Phytomedicine"; Can a Concentrated Cranberry Extract Prevent Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections in Women? A pilot study; DT Bailey, et al.; Apr 2007
- PaloAltoMedicalFoundation.org: Cranberry
- DrugDigest.org: Cranberry
- "Urology"; Dietary Supplementation with Cranberry Concentrate Tablets May Increase the Risk of Nephrolithiasis; M.K. Terris, et al.; 2001 Jan
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