Cranberry Juice For Urinary Tract Infections ( UTI )

KitsuneFox

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Are there any * medical studies * that prove to cranberry juice helps fight UTI ?
Whenever I get mild UTI, I drink a lot of cranberry juice and it seems to help, but I don't know if it's the 'placebo effect', or just my body naturally fighting the infection on it's own .
 
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cranberry juice and cranberry supplements have oxalic acid which can promote kidney stones.
 
There is a study but it was funded by Ocean Spray and they had 2 of their own researchers involved with others. It may have a mildly positive effect on symptoms provided you drink at least a 240ml bottle for 6 weeks. As far as prevention goes you would have to drink the same amount for 3.1 years to stop 1 infection. Best thing is just lots of water, I know it hurts to pee, but you need to flush everything from your kidneys down, once you are over the uti try to keep up 1.5 to 2 liters of water a day and cut down on alcohol, tea, coffee and soda drinks.

UK link - https://www.nhs.uk/news/food-and-di...l-for-women-with-recurring-utis-claims-study/
 
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PCBaby said:
There is a study but it was funded by Ocean Spray and they had 2 of their own researchers involved with others. It may have a mildly positive effect on symptoms provided you drink at least a 240ml bottle for 6 weeks. As far as prevention goes you would have to drink the same amount for 3.1 years to stop 1 infection. Best thing is just lots of water, I know it hurts to pee, but you need to flush everything from your kidneys down, once you are over the uti try to keep up 1.5 to 2 liters of water a day and cut down on alcohol, tea, coffee and soda drinks.

UK link - https://www.nhs.uk/news/food-and-di...l-for-women-with-recurring-utis-claims-study/
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Actually, to prevent a UTI it is best not only to drink a lot of water but also to take crnberrry supplements.
My last 2 urologists both recommended to take them because I have a high tendency to e-coli bacteria developments in my urine, that bacteria does not like acid environments, they do really help.

They even got rid of a light UTI with 3 cranberry pills a day and 3 liters of water, after 2 days I was cured.

Neither of those doctors mentioned anything about increased risk for kidney stones, but it could explain why I have more debris in my bladder after 3 weeks with a foley catheter, the biofilm is excessivley thick then.
 
The kidney stones that are due to oxalate in the urine can be from excessive vitamin C. Supplements that are typically bundled together as a cranberry, bladder health contain mega doses of C. There are several references online that you can read, one is here.
 
daylight said:
The kidney stones that are due to oxalate in the urine can be from excessive vitamin C. Supplements that are typically bundled together as a cranberry, bladder health contain mega doses of C. There are several references online that you can read, one is here.
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Maybe that's why both of them recommend cranberry supplements instead of juice? Those supplement tablets have a higher concentration of cranberry , no vitamin c , no sugar and are thus more effective.
 
I swear to god it works, helped me quite a few times already, if its placebo effect, I love this effect, you know that red wine is also good for the heart and blood pressure if you don't abuse it either.
 
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My mom has been using cranberry juice her whole life and as a former nurse she swears by it. I think it works because you’ll drink a ton of water after you take a sip of cranberry juice so you can get the taste out of your mouth 🤣. I’m kidding but they do actually make cranberry supplements meant for helping with kidney stones, which work a lot better than juice since they aren’t full of sugar and other stuff.
 
There are supplements with just cranberry extract. However, be aware that some of the OTC supplements contain huge doses of vitamin C. A quick search suggests a daily adult dose is 75-90 mg, and some of the advertised pills/tablets have 400 mg or more. Furthermore, reading the back of the bottle, it recommends multiple tablets a day. Doing the math - 5 * 3 = 15 times the daily dose.

Studies have indicated they help reducing the occurrences of UTI because of the proanthocyanidins in concentration (not juice). Other studies also show that for some individuals, cranberry supplements can increase the chances of kidney stones for those susceptible to forming stones. Just research for yourself.
 
Also if you have had kidney stones, lemon water helps soften the calcium and prevent them
 
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winterheart01 said:
Maybe that's why both of them recommend cranberry supplements instead of juice? Those supplement tablets have a higher concentration of cranberry , no vitamin c , no sugar and are thus more effective.
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WH, Sorry, missed replying to your question/reply. Exactly, that's what I believe to be true as well as juice contains a lot of sugar and not enough cranberry concentration. Bottom line: one must weight or consult their PCP whether the supplement (with or without C) is beneficial to take over a long period of time due to the risk of kidney stones and any bladder irritation.
 
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I have interstitial cystitis, and for many of us with that condition, anything with cranberries is a huge no-no. It can be intensely irritating to the bladder.

From the limited reading I've done, there is some medical research that has shown a slight positive impact of cranberry juice on UTIs, as well as some that has shown no benefit. It seems that the jury is still out on whether it's beneficial or not, but it does not appear to be harmful for prevention and treatment of UTIs.

Most research seems to support the idea that cranberry juice can raise your risk of calcium oxalate stones.
 
ltaluv said:
Most research seems to support the idea that cranberry juice can raise your risk of calcium oxalate stones.
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Could it be that the cranberry supplements also do that? I get serious calcium deposits and biofilm after 3 weeks with each Foley catheter, so I can't leave it in for 6 weeks as the doc prescribed....
The filter of my drainage bag got clogged with dust particles.
 
winterheart01 said:
Could it be that the cranberry supplements also do that? I get serious calcium deposits and biofilm after 3 weeks with each Foley catheter, so I can't leave it in for 6 weeks as the doc prescribed....
The filter of my drainage bag got clogged with dust particles.
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I didn't see any research on supplements, just the juice. Seems likely, though.
 
My doc has recommended the supplements before. I'm prone to UTIs, but they seem to shorten it.

In my experience though, cranberry seems to REALLY increase production, and what you produce is harder to hold than your usual output—so be prepared to have to pee a lot.
 
Thought I'd chime in, my fiancée suffered from frequent utis, usually associated with sex. Apparently I have some bacteria on me that doesn't agree with her because she never experienced it before being with me. No amount of water, going after intercourse, or showering after helped. Cranberry supplements provided mixed results if any benefit at all. She was having 4 or 5 UTIs per year. The bacteria are already resistant to 2 out of 3 or 4 common classes of antibiotics. We were getting worried. If you run out of antibiotics to try, you actually stand a good chance of developing sepsis, kidney failure and potentially dying. It's amazing how neglected UTIs are in research, probably because they mainly affect women.

Anyway, both being scientists, we turned to the literature for other prophylactics against UTIs. We finally found something, d-mannose. One mannose supplement about an hour before intercourse and she hasn't had a UTI in about two years. Definitely recommend it.
 
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