Do cranberries really prevent urinary tract infections?

Urinary tract infections (UTI) affect up to 60% of women over the course of their lifetimes. These infections result in bothersome symptoms including frequent, painful urination. They lead millions of people to seek medical care and cost billions of healthcare dollars each year. Is it any wonder that we would hope to find some way to prevent recurrence of these infections? For many, that hope has been placed in the tart little berry that makes its appearance each Thanksgiving — the cranberry.

How effective are cranberries at preventing infection?

Cranberry juice

Early on, several studies indicated that cranberry juice was effective in preventing recurrence of urinary tract infections. A class of chemicals called proanthocyanidins (PAC), found in cranberries, is thought to keep E. coli (the most common cause of urinary tract infections) from binding to bladder cells. It seemed to make sense that drinking cranberry juice would keep infections from recurring. However, PAClue3 y"n:1eost 7o tract ost .ad exlls. she ollw

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