Cranberry juice would be particularly effective in preventing recurrence of urinary tract infections in women, according to the findings of an American study.
The news may well delight fans of “home” remedies. Cranberry juice – or cranberry juice – would limit the appearance of new urinary tract infections after a first cystitis in women. The little red berry is even more effective in fighting infection than antibiotics, according to the findings of researchers at Boston University (United States), published in the journal The American Journal of ClinicaL Nutrition and funded in part by Ocean Spray – the world leader in cranberry juice.
This little red berry has long sparked lively debates about its therapeutic virtues. Studies of its benefits – in juice, pills or syrups – kept contradicting each other. According to the researchers, who come to close the debate, a single glass of 240 ml – that is to say a large glass – would reduce by 40% the risk of recurrence, thus avoiding the hell of recurrent infections.
To obtain their results, the scientists gathered 373 women in the United States and France, for five months. The participants had experienced at least two episodes of UTI in the previous year, so they were at significant risk of recurrence.
During this period, the volunteers drank daily either a large glass of cranberry (240 ml) for some, or a placebo for the others. The researchers then evaluated the effects of this small red berry on the appearance of new urinary tract infections.
Very few recurrences
As a result, recurrence rates were significantly lower when women consumed cranberry. The researchers found only 39 diagnoses of UTI over 6 months, compared to 67 in the group who drank only placebo.
“Currently, the main approach to reducing the symptomatic events of cystitis is through antibiotics, but they are associated with side effects that are damaging to health, and promote antibiotic resistance. Cranberry juice could therefore avoid the excessive use of antibiotics, ”said in a statement the main author of the study, Dr. Kalpana Gupta, specialist in infectious diseases and professor of medicine at Boston University.
Anti-bacterial properties
These results are not that surprising. As the researchers detail, cranberries contain a unique combination of compounds that are full of health benefits, including proanthocyanidin, which prevents bacteria from adhering to the walls and causing infections. Xyloglucan oligosaccharides have anti-bacterial properties. Here is the secret. All these compounds are found in juices, extracts, or even syrups.
Cystitis is the most common urinary tract infection. It is a bladder infection, most often not serious. It mainly affects women. It manifests itself by pain or burning when urinating, a feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen, or even by a need to urinate very often, with the emission of a small amount of urine.
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