Explain
A report published in 1994 revived interest in cranberry juice to prevent urinary tract infections.
In the first large-scale controlled study of its kind, researchers from the Harvard Medical School studied 153 women over age 65. One randomly assigned group drank ten ounces a day of a low-cal cranberry juice cocktail. A second randomly-assigned group drank the same quantity of a drink that was not a juice, but tasted like a juice. After six months, the cranberry juice drinkers had a 58 percent reduction in their risk of having bacteria and white blood cells (a sign of infection) in their urine compared to the placebo group.
Top
The juice drinkers' urine was no more acidic than the non-juice drinkers', suggesting that cranberry juice's acidity is not what it controls harmful bacteria as some had previously suggested. Cranberry juice may make it harder for bacteria to stick to the bladder's inner wall and helps flush out bacteria in the urine. Therefore, while cranberry juice can help prevent infections, it shouldn't be used as a substitute for antibiotics with a urinary tract infections that is producing symptoms. Along with cranberry, other members of the vaccinium family-for example, blueberry and bilberry-may also cut down on urinary tract infections.
It has also been suggested that cranberry juice can reduce incontinence. We cannot find any evidence supporting this. However, other foods are thought to influence incontinence. Spices and spicy foods can irritate urgency problems, as can caffeine, alcohol, and acidic foods like tomatoes and citrus fruits. smoking is thought to substantially raise the risk of developing incontinence by decreasing a woman's total circulating estrogens, which can worsen urogenital atrophy. The coughing associated with smoking also can weaken pelvic muscles that support bladder function.
Top
|