Urinary
tract infections also called cystitis are caused by bacteria that travel from
the urethra up into the urinary bladder. It can be quite painful. Women may
have burning pain while urinating and feel like they need to urinate
frequently. Some women tend to develop recurrent cystitis. In that case,
drinking cranberry juice is very helpful as a preventive measure because a
substance present in that fruit prevents bacteria from adhering to the walls of
the bladder decreasing the chance to develop an infection.
Putting it into
action:
It is advised to drink about 20 cl (7 ounces) of cranberry juice
daily. Make sure it’s 100 % juice. If you find it too sour tasting, cranberry
capsules do exist, and the research has shown that it is also effective. During
the infection, drink lots of water in addition to the cranberry juice and
prefer showers to baths.
Source:
Jepson RG,
Mihaljevic L, Craig J. "Cranberries for preventing urinary tract
infections."
Cochrane
Database Syst Rev. 2004;(1):CD001321.
Stothers L. "A randomized trial to
evaluate effectiveness and cost effectiveness of naturopathic cranberry
products as prophylaxis against urinary tract infection in women." Can J
Urol. 2002 Jun;9(3):1558-62.
