Can Cranberry Juice Treat Urinary Tract Infections?
For years folk remedy has taught that cranberry juice can prevent or treat Urinary Tract Infections (UTI). But is there any truth to this? Towards the beginning of the 20th century doctors thought that cranberry juice could help prevent urinary tract infections because of its acidity. Like vitamin C, it was thought that the acidity of cranberry juice prevented the build up of bacteria within the urinary tract. However, more recent studies disprove this logic but not the overall idea. As it turns out, cranberry juice can treat UTIs but not because of the reasons that were before thought. Cranberry juice’s effectiveness is not due to its acidity, it’s due to a molecular compound within cranberry juice which prevents bacteria sticking to the lining of the urinary tract. A study published by the American Medical Association found that women given 10 ounces of cranberry juice every day for 6 months were half as likely to develop urinary tract infections. The study stated that cranberry juic
