Healing Urinary Tract Infections with Cranberry Juice and Water

Cystitis, an infection-induced condition of inflammation in the urinary tract usually caused by E. coli, is the cause of 11,000,000 visits to doctors every year in the United States alone.

Cystitis is one of the most common urinary tract infections among women. Between 10 and 20 percent of women have at least one episode of bladder infection every year, and between 2 and 4 percent of women at any time are infected with the bacteria that cause bladder infections and do not know it. Between the ages of 20 and 50, cystitis is roughly 50 times more common in women than men, but the infection is common in baby boys and men over age 65. Cystitis is also relatively common among gay men.

Urine is free of bacteria when it leaves the kidneys. Infectious bacteria can migrate upward through the urethra to the bladder (or, in rare instances, enter the urinary tract from the bloodstream). Bacteria are introduced into the urinary canal from fecal contamination or, in women, vaginal secretions.

Most bacteria that manage to enter the urethra are simply flushed away by the constant flow of urine. As women pass menopause, however, hormonal changes tend to weaken the ligaments surrounding the urethral canal so that the free flow of urine is blocked. Pregnancy also places pressure on the urinary canal. In both situations, bacteria have greater opportunity to accumulate and grow hyphae, “hooks” that anchor them in the lining of the urinary canal. Both men and women with uncontrolled diabetes are especially susceptible to cystitis, since the high sugar content of their urine gives bacteria food on which to grow. Sexual intercourse and mechanical injury are other risk factors.

Adequate hydration is fundamental to controlling bladder infections. Drinking 8 glasses of water ensures a regular flow of urine that keeps bacteria from accumulating in the urinary tract. Drinking sugary soft drinks and eating sweets, however, counteracts the beneficial effects of drinking water. Clinical study has shown that people who consume 100 grams of white sugar—the equivalent of a 44-ounce soft drink or a couple of slices of cake—have impaired immune responses to bacterial infection for at least 5 hours.. Drinking alcohol is also detrimental.

Cranberry juice was once thought to fight urinary tract infection by making the urine too acidic for bacterial growth, but later studies suggest that its mode of action is keeping E. coli from “taking root” in the urinary canal.. The most recent research found that drinking cranberry juice keeps 80 percent of antibiotic-treatable bacteria and 79 percent of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from adhering to the lining of the urethra. The effect begins 2 hours after cranberry juice is drunk and lasts 8 hours. Blueberry and lingonberry juices are also effective.

Don’t give cranberry juice to infants. The medical literature reports a case of cranberry juice intoxication in a 4-month old baby given 180 milliliters (approximately ¾ cup) of cranberry juice developed diarrhea severe enough to cause dehydration. The cranberry juice acidified not only the urine but the child’s entire system. The child recovered after being put on a lactose-free formula.