A Case For Cranberry Juice for Urinary Infection

Cranberry juice has long been the preferred home-cure for urinary tract infections (although I did hear a clerk in Safeway one day telling a customer about the benefits of pineapple juice).  When I was a kid, my parents started pouring cranberry cocktail into wine glasses at our Christmas dinners.  It tasted somewhat bitter to us kids, so we fantasized that it was wine.

When I got my first (of many) painful bout of cystitis as part of recurring urinary tract infections, I was told that drinking cranberry juice would "do the trick". It turns out that the sugar content in the cranberry juice was a kind of shot-in-the-foot since the sugar (today listed as cane or beet-sourced) was almost as high as what you would find in the same quantity of soda pop, or maybe higher, if you take into account that the juice was also sweetened with concentrated juices, that may, in fact, have been sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.  Well, in any case, I slugged it back, but it did no good.  I still had pain.  I still got an infection on a fairly regular basis.  Of course I resorted to taking antibiotics, that would "knock it out" of there, until they were no longer resistant to the bacteria because of being over-prescribed, and then the UTIs would come back.

That was then.

Now studies have shown that pure, unsweetened cranberry juice-- buy it here or at your health store, or try making your own- is just as effective as antibiotics in overcoming bacterial infections in the urinary tract.  The proanthocyandins in cranberries appear to strip the bacteria from the sides of the urinary tract walls, disabling it from creating inflammation and infection.  When you take antibiotics, you need to keep coming back for antibiotics... when you take cranberry juice, over time the cranberry juice (along with 4 other simple add-ins to the play, as listed below) usually allow you to get through the odd UTI in a short period of time, or even prevent you from getting further urinary tract infections.  (IT IS TRUE)

CRANBERRY JUICE IS A TEAM PLAYER

Along with cranberry juice, it is very important for everybody-- particularly people who get recurrent urinary bacterial infections-- and their intimate partners-- to follow a sort of regimen.  (Well, it beats the irritating pain of cystitis, right?)

(1) Keep hydrated with pure, filtered water.  A study of women who were properly hydrated and those who were not, found that twice as many (2X) women who didn't drink enough water each day (at least 8-10 ounces for every pound of body weight, and taking exertion into account) got recurring UTIs while the fully hydrated women were unlikely to have a recurrence.  Most doctors will advise their patients drink more water-- about 8-10 glasses a day.  Being fully hydrated means that your system is flushing out the bacteria on a more regular basis.

(2) Also be sure to drink water after having sex, and urinate after.

(3) Practice good pelvic hygiene.  Shower, but do not use soap or douche products that can further irritate the vaginal and urethral area.  Warm water should be sufficient to cleanse.  Wear clean undies daily, particularly after intimacy.

(4)Eat good food to nourish your body and cut back or cut out the foods that are hard on your microbiome.  Chicken is particularly suspect in bacterial infections of the urinary tract.  See what Doctor Michael Greger has to report about chicken.  Even kosher and Organic Chicken??

 Add a little Raw Honey to Your Cranberry Juice 

That pure, unsweetened, Just Cranberry Juice is sssssssourrrrrr.  Yes, it is!  If you are like me, you sorta like it.  But there are many people who just can't stomach it.  Dr. Pamela Popper in her video about urinary tract infections, suggests that you take a little raw honey with the cranberry juice.  Raw honey has antibacterial properties and it is a pretty healthy way to overcome bacterial infections on its own (see my article on Raw Honey in this blog HERE).  Don't give up on Cranberry Juice quite yet!! 

Go here and read what the Medical Medium, Anthony William, has to say about cranberries and get this luscious recipe for Cranberry-Orange Sauce.


Studies about the Efficacy of Cranberries with UTIs

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References in this blog are meant for information only and if you have a condition of concern, please consult with your trusted health care provider.

Ideas to Prevent UTIs from Women's Day Magazine

Photo: © Comstock

Preventing a common condition

By Woman's Day Staff Posted July 08, 2008 from Woman's Day

What does it feel like?
Most people with a urinary tract infection (UTI, a.k.a. cystitis) will feel an urgent need to "go" (even if only a few drops of urine come out), pain or burning when urinating, and back pain or a dull pelvic ache.
What causes it?
A UTI occurs when bacteria gets into the urinary tract and then the bladder. UTIs affect more women than men. Being pregnant or using a diaphragm that doesn’t fit well may increase your risk. Dehydration is also a culprit: "Urinating regularly flushes out bacteria, and if you’re not drinking enough, you won’t go to the bathroom enough," says Jennifer Ashton, M.D., an ob-gyn at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood, New Jersey.
How do I treat it?
If you have symptoms for more than 24 hours, call your ob-gyn or primary care physician. She’ll test a urine sample, and if you do in fact have a UTI, she’ll prescribe an oral antibiotic. You may feel better after a few days, but make sure you finish the round of pills or the UTI could return and be more difficult to treat. Don’t worry if your urine turns some wacky hue like purple or bright orange; it’s a common side effect of the meds. To ease discomfort while you’re waiting for the antibiotics to kick in, your doc may also recommend an OTC pain reliever like AZO, Uristat or Cystex.
How can I prevent it?

Don’t hold it in! Waiting too long to go can stretch the bladder and damage its lining, making it more vulnerable to bacteria, says Larrian Gillespie, M.D., author of You Don’t Have to Live with Cystitis.
Drink cranberry juice. A recent Rutgers University study found that drinking 16 ounces daily prevented 80 percent of all bacteria from sticking to urinary tract walls.
Urinate after sex. Intercourse can push bacteria into the urinary tract; emptying your bladder before and after sex helps flush it out.
Get more vitamin C. Eating foods that are rich in vitamin C (such as oranges and strawberries) may acidify the urine, which helps prevent the growth of bacteria in the urinary tract.
For more information Visit the National Kidney Foundation at www.kidney.org or the American Urological Association at urologyhealth.org

Did you know?
UTIs account for about 8.3 million doctor visits each year and are considered the second most common infection.

Eating blueberries can help prevent UTIs by stopping bacteria from attaching to urinary tract tissues.
above article found at http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Health/Conditions-Diseases/Checkup-UTI.html


References in this blog are meant for information only and if you have a condition of concern, please consult with your trusted health care provider.