PreventDisease.com - Cranberry Juice Prevents Urinary Tract Infections



		Cranberry Juice Prevents Urinary Tract Infections NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - While it's been folk advice for years, a new study appears to confirm what many women think they already know--drinking cranberry juice can reduce the chances of getting repeated urinary tract infections. The findings suggest that this popular remedy could be a good way to prevent repeats of the painful infections and reduce the need for antibiotics, which are often required to clear up the infection, according to the report in the June 30th issue of the British Medical Journal. In the US alone, 11 million women each year are given antibiotics for urinary tract infections (UTI). UTI symptoms include frequent urges to urinate and a painful, burning sensation during urination. In the new study, Finnish women who were at risk for repeated UTIs who drank a mixture of cranberry and lingonberry juice daily for six months were 20% less likely to get a UTI compared with women who drank a lactobaccillus drink or nothing in particular. Overall, 16% women in the cranberry group, 39% in the lactobacillus and 36% in the control group had at least one urinary tract infection during the year-long study. ``The main result was that cranberry was effective in preventing urinary tract infection recurrences in these young, active women,'' said Dr. Tero Kontiokari of the University of Oulu in an interview with Reuters Health. The lactobacillus drink was deemed ineffective by the researchers as a means to stave off urinary tract infections. ``Since cranberry juice is a natural food product and readily available, it seems a useful means for self administered prevention of urinary tract infections,'' the authors conclude. The study notes that as many as 60% of women contract a urinary tract infection at some point in their life. At least a third of women with a urinary tract infection will experience a recurrence during the following year, with women between the ages of 25 and 29 or those over the age of 55 years most likely to have recurrent infections, the study indicates. In the study, the researchers monitored three groups of 50 women for urinary tract infections. One group drank 50 milliliters (ml) of cranberry-lingonberry juice daily for six months, another drank 100 ml of a lactobacillus drink five days a week for a year and a control group that drank neither of the beverages. SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2001:322;1571-1573. Reference Source 89 For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".