Cranberries Don’t Cure UTIs After All, New Study Claims

Cranberries may be the go-to means of dealing with urinary tract infections, may it be curing them or helping prevent them. But new research suggests that this folk remedy isn’t that effective after all, particularly when taken by older women.

It’s been a hotly-debated topic for years, even decades – do cranberries have anti-bacterial capabilities that help people, especially females, avoid UTIs and other similar bacterial infections? While there have been medical studies that have debunked their efficacy as nothing but pseudo-science, there are also a lot of companies that push cranberry juice and capsules as an effective way of curing, treating, or preventing UTIs. According to a MinnPost report, companies such as Ocean Spray with commercial interest in selling cranberry byproducts have funded their share of studies that trumpet the efficacy of the fruit in dealing with bacterial infections.

Study finds that cranberry supplements won't fix your UTI: https://t.co/mMJsrlj0AB

— Health (@goodhealth) October 28, 2016

A study published Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that cranberry capsules aren’t effective in treating UTIs in elderly women who live in nursing homes. According to MinnPost, the Yale University-led team of researchers enrolled 147 women in the study, and had gone with women who live in nursing homes due to their high risk of developing UTIs; when the research started, close to a third (31 percent) of the women had bacteria or pus in their urine at that time. The researchers also went with female subjects as women, regardless of age, are far more likely than men to develop urinary tract infections.

The women were then randomly divided into two groups, one group being asked to take two cranberry capsules a day, and the other group given placebo capsules that looked identical to the actual supplements with cranberries. The actual capsules had 72 milligrams of proanthocyanidi combined – this is the active agent in the supplements that has a similar effect to drinking 20 ounces of cranberry juice.

For one year, the women were asked to take either the real cranberry capsules or the placebo, and neither they nor their caregivers were informed about the type of capsule they were consuming. As this was a double-blinded study, not even the researchers knew which woman belonged to what group. Through the one-year observation period, the results were similar; 10 women in the cranberry capsule group and 12 women in the placebo group developed clear UTI symptoms, making for a statistically insignificant difference.

Nothing's better than apple cider in the fall, unless its this Cranberry Apple Cider Shandy! https://t.co/dI0TRNMNar http://pic.twitter.com/jDPwapY5si

— Ocean Spray (@OceanSprayInc) October 19, 2016

If cranberries don’t really work in treating UTIs, is there any viable alternative? There is, and the alternative is as simple as it can get. MinnPost cited information from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) website, suggesting that people consume plain water to help flush out any bacteria from their system. The website also warned against the possible side effects of drinking large amounts of cranberry juice, such as upset stomach and a heightened chance of kidney stones.

University of Manitoba infectious disease specialist Dr. Lindsay Nicolle wrote an editorial accompanying the new study, saying that it’s “time to move on” from cranberries. She stressed that the fruit’s byproducts are not a medically-viable way to prevent or cure UTIs.

“A person may, of course, choose to use cranberry juice or capsules for whatever reasons she or he wishes. However, clinicians should not be promoting cranberry use by suggesting that there is proven, or even possible, benefits.”

Although the study did provide evidence of cranberry byproducts not doing much good in helping elderly women avoid UTIs, Ocean Spray released a statement that still asserts the fruit’s advantages. According to Newsmax, Ocean Spray spokeswoman Kellyanne Dignan brought up earlier studies that hyped the benefits of cranberries, adding that the company “takes great pride” in its cranberry-based products and their health benefits.

[Featured Image by Darren McCollester/Getty Images]

Cranberries Don’t Cure UTIs After All, New Study Claims is an article from: The Inquisitr News