Does cranberry juice really help prevent urinary tract infections?
Cranberry juice has been traditionally used to prevent and treat urinary tract infections. It is thought to help prevent bacteria from adhering to the walls of the urinary tract. Evidence is still inconclusive, and further research is needed. One recent study indicates that cranberry juice is good for preventing urinary tract infections, but may not be effective for treating existing infections. Cranberry juice may also have antioxidant and anticancer properties. Again, more research is needed. To track current medical research, you can use MEDLINE/PubMed, which is provided by the United States National Library of Medicine to index the medical journal literature. Use “cranberr*” as the search term to retrieve citations of articles dealing with cranberries and cranberry juice. The same site provides access to MEDLINEplus, which provides health information in layperson’s language.
