Sign up for our Email Newsletter & Receive a Free Health Ebook!

A Case For And Against Cranberry Juice For Urinary Infection"

By Tess Thompson

Cranberry and cranberry juice for treating urinary tract infections is one of the most common home/ natural remedies. Cranberry juice or vitamins C both increase the acid in your urine so bacteria can't grow easily.

Cranberry juice also makes your bladder wall slippery, so bacteria can't stick to it. A large polymeric compound of unknown structure and fructose in the juice are said to be responsible for this. Whereas fructose is present in all fruits, the large polymeric compound is found only in cranberry and blueberry juices.

Whether or not cranberry and cranberry juice is a substitute for urinary tract infection cure and bladder infection treatment is open to doubt but in conditions where treatment is ineffective, such as where asymptomatic bacteriuria exist it can prove to be of great help.

On first signs of a urinary tract infection, almost all doctors advise drinking more water, up to 8 glasses every day, to induce more urination. Increased urination helps flush out bacteria from the bladder.

Some studies have demonstrated that cranberry juice can help prevent UTI. It is contended that cranberry juice curbs adhesion of E. coli cells to the bladder lining. These studies, which purport to have been made under scientific conditions using placebos and blind testing, have produced very encouraging results. According to these studies the regular intake of cranberry juice is effective in reducing bacteria in infected urine.

The important thing to remember is to use 100% cranberry juice as most of the drinks or cocktails purporting to contain cranberry are most of the time flavored or contain very little of cranberry juice.

All this does not mean that cranberry juice is an absolute alternate to urinary tract infection cure. It also cannot also replace bladder infection treatment on its own. The fact of the matter is that cranberry juice does no harm and can be taken safely. It just might be of great help as the studies point out.

What needs to be done is that more research on the effects of cranberry juice on UTI and its prevention should be initiated in order to rule out any doubts about its efficacy. Till that time cranberry juice can at best be an additional home remedy along with the antibiotics used for urinary tract infection cure.

If you are in an unfortunate situation of being infected with UTI and / or face recurring UTI, you can consume as much cranberry juice as you safely can. The vitamin C and fructose in it will be of great help in complementing the effects of any antibiotic prescribed by your physician.