Cranberry juice is often said to be a useful preventative and treatment for urinary tract infections (UTIs). However, a study published this week in The Cochrane Library reaffirms the idea that while cranberry juice may be useful if you suffer from recurring UTIs, it won’t do anything much to prevent you getting one in the first place.
Picture by Jason Ilagan
The study examined 24 previous research studies on the effectiveness of cranberry juice and drew this conclusion:
Although in some studies there were small benefits for women suffering from recurring infections, women would have to consume two glasses of cranberry juice per day for long periods to prevent one infection.
This chimes in with a meta-study we reported on earlier this year, which noted that cranberry juice was much more effective on people with recurring UTIs.
Cranberry juice is a useful and relatively low-sugar source of vitamin C and there are certainly much worse things you could drink. That said, as ever, eating fruit is better for you than drinking the juice.
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