Cranberries in treating the Honeymooner’s disease (Urinary Tract Infection, UTI)

Have you ever felt the sensation of passing urine all the time although you may not have much urine to pass? Or have you ever felt discomfort and pain or a burning sensation at your lower abdomen (urethra) along with cloudy and foul-smelling urine? High chances are that you would be advised by your doctor you have a condition known as urinary tract infection (UTI). The Wikepedia states that a urinary tract infection (UTI) is a bacterial infection that affects any part of the urinary tract. Although urine contains a variety of fluids, salts, and waste products, it usually does not have bacteria in it. When bacteria gets into the bladder or kidney and multiply in the urine, they cause a UTI.

The reason why I thought it essential to share this is due to the fact that although it is highly common in occurrence, many people, especially the younger generation are quite unaware of this condition. I’ve had some friends who worried themselves silly over the symptoms, some in silence because they were not sure what had hit them and thought it a little too embarrassing to ask anyone until the situation was too serious and they had to go to the doctor’s. Granted, I could understand where they were coming from. After all, it is most rampant in sexually active women and many perceive it to be some kind of sexual disease. No wonder my own mother called it the Honeymooner’s disease. Thus, it is of utmost importance to be able to identify UTIs before it got to the extent that the patient develops a fever, cold sweats and shaking chills.

For not so serious cases, usually the traditional treatment would be to drink lots of fluids to clear the urinary tract and here as well, the function of cranberries is well-known. Since I was touching on the uses of cranberries in the oral care industry earlier, perhaps it helps to mention that the anti-adhesion effect of cranberries in our body system works just the same way here. If the bacteria that causes UTIs cannot stick to the urinary tract, this would prevent the condition from getting worse. In fact, the first scientific findings on cranberry were related to urinary tract health. Here are some published papers on the matter:

Your natural traditional remedy to UTIs

1) MARCH 1994 – JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
Harvard Medical School researchers conduct the first well-controlled large-scale clinical trial to demonstrate that drinking cranberry juice regularly significantly reduced the presence of bacteria in the urine. The researchers found that the effect was not because of more acidic urine (the urine of the cranberry juice drinkers was no more acidic than those drinking a non-cranberry placebo drink) and speculated that there was something specific in cranberry that prevented bacteria from adhering to the urinary tract. This research was conducted with 153 women, average age of 78, using a cranberry juice cocktail that contained 27 percent cranberry juice.

2) JUNE 2002 – CANADIAN JOURNAL OF UROLOGY
A University of British Columbia urologist found use of cranberry juice and tablets with incrased fluid intake are more effective than fluids alone in preventing UTIs in women studied. Forty percent fewer women experienced UTIs when receiving cranberry products vs placebo, and an average had half the number of UTIs. Antibiotic use was less in the cranberry group vs placebo. The researcher recommended that cranberry products be offered as an option in the management of recurrent UTIs.

3) SEPTEMBER 2005 – PHYTOCHEMISTRY
In a human study comparing the anti-adhesion effect of Cranberry Juice versus other foods that contain proanthocyanins (PACs), researchers reported that cranberry juice inhibited bacteria binding, whereas grape and apple juices, green tea and chocolate did not produce this anti-adhesion activity. In addition, cranberry PACs were found to have a unique structural feature, which may account for this specific microbial anti-adhesion property.

4) OCTOBER 2005 – JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that dried cranberries may offer an anti-adhesion mechanism that may protect the body from the bacteria that cause urinary tract infections. Sweeted dried cranberries were compared to a control and raisin samples. Increased bacterial anti-adhesion activity was found in the urine of participants who had consumed sweetened dried cranberries but not in the urine of those who had consumed raisins.

5) FEBRUARY 2006 – BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
Researcers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute describe the ability of cranberry PACs to alter the shape of certain E. coli bacteria that cause Urinary Tract Infection. This effect is proposed as one way cranberry PACs can disable bacteria.

6) JUNE 2007 – JOURNAL OF UROLOGY
Researchers from Yale University, University of Washington, and Rutgers University collaborated to study the anti-adhesion effect of cranberry on primary cultured bladder cells and vaginal cells. The findings confirm the ability of cranberry to inhibit E. coli binding to these cells in a dose-dependent manner, further supporting the anti-adhesion mechanism of cranberry in preventing UTIs.

What this means to you as a consumer:
Cranberry juices, tablets, or dried cranberry fruits can be used to prevent urinary tract infections, better than just using fluids alone. If your condition is not that serious and you don’t want to have to use antibiotics to treat it, you could try this natural option first. If in the end, this doesn’t work, you could try running to a local pharmacy for a dose of Citraverscent sachets (ask your pharmacists for their recommendation). Citraverscent increases the alkali reserve in the urinary tract and renders the urine less acidic. It is one of the most prescribed remedy for UTIs.

Wholesome goodness in the form of a berry

References:

1) Avorn J, Monane M, Gurwitz JH, Glynn RJ, Choodnovskiy I, Lipsitz LA, Reduction of Bacteriuria and Pyuria after ingestion of cranberry juice. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 1994; 271:751-754
2) Stothers L, A randomized trial to evaluate effectiveness and cost effectiveness of naturopathic cranberry products as prophylaxis against urinary tract infection in women. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF UROLOGY 2002; 9:1558-1562
3) Howell AB, Reed JD, Krueger CG, Winterbottom R, Cunningham DG, Leahy M. A-type cranberry proanthocyanidins and uropathogenic bacterial anti-adhesion activity. PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2005; 66:2281-2291
4) Greenberg JA, Newmann SJ, Howell AB, Consumption of sweetened dried cranberries versus unsweetened raisins for inhibiton of uropathogenic Escherichia coli adhesion in human urine: A pilot study. JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
5) Liu Y, Black MA, Caron L, Camesano TA. Role of cranberry juice on molecular-scale surface characteristics and adhesion behavior of Escherichia coli. BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
6) Gupta K, Chou MY, Howell AB, Wobbe C, Grady R, Stapleton AE. Cranberry products inhibit adherence of P-fimbriated Escherichia coli to primary cultured bladder and vaginal epithelial cells. JOURNAL OF UROLOGY