What Are The Side Effects Of Cranberry
Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives difficult breathing swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Stop using cranberry and call your healthcare provider at once if you have:
- continued pain or burning when you urinate
- vomiting, severe stomach pain or
- signs of a kidney stonepainful or difficult urination, pink or red urine, nausea, vomiting, and waves of sharp pain in your side or back spreading to your lower stomach and groin.
Common side effects may include:
- nausea, vomiting or
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Cranberry And Urinary Tract Infections: State Of Scientific Knowledge
The term “urinary tract infections covers a heterogeneous group of infections occurring more frequently in women than in men, with 40 to 50% of women having at least one UTI during their lifetime. The bacterium Escherichia coli is the pathogen most frequently responsible for UTIs in women aged from 15 to 65 years .
Questions have been raised for several years about the possibility of using cranberry and products containing it to prevent UTIs. Various risk assessment agencies have examined it in the fields of both nutrition and health products:
- between 2003 and 2008, the French Food Safety Agency assessed various cranberry products for which numerous claims had been made suggesting a direct link between consumption of cranberry and prevention of UTIs
- in 2008, the French Health Products Safety Agency addressed this issue in its guidelines entitled Diagnostic et antibiothérapie des infections urinaires bactériennes communautaires chez l’adulte
- in 2009, the European Food Safety Authority assessed the claim Helps reduce the risk of urinary tract infection in women by inhibiting the adherence of certain bacteria in the urinary tract related to a cranberry juice and to dried cranberries.
All these assessments are consistent and indicate that:
- cranberry products reduce the adherence of certain bacteria that cause UTIs to the urinary tract walls.
Earlier opinions
How To Take Cranberry
Use Cranberry exactly as directed on the label, or as prescribed by your doctor. Do not use in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended.
When considering the use of herbal supplements, seek the advice of your doctor. You may also consider consulting a practitioner who is trained in the use of herbal/health supplements.
If you choose to use cranberry, use it as directed on the package or as directed by your doctor, pharmacist, or other healthcare provider. Do not use more of this product than is recommended on the label.
Drink plenty of liquids while you are taking cranberry.
The chewable tablet must be chewed before you swallow it.
Do not use different forms of cranberry at the same time without medical advice. Using different formulations together increases the risk of an overdose.
Store cranberry in a sealed container as directed on the product label, away from heat and light.
Skip the missed dose if it is almost time for your next scheduled dose. Do not use extra cranberry to make up the missed dose.
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Cranberry Juice And Urinary Tract Infection
In 2008, there was tentative evidence that long-term use of cranberry juice might help prevent symptomatic urinary tract infections , but this finding was refuted in 2012 with a conclusion that 14 further studies suggest that cranberry juice is less effective than previously indicated, and cranberry juice cannot currently be recommended for the prevention of UTIs. The European Food Safety Authority reviewed the evidence and concluded a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of cranberry products and reducing the risk of UTIs.
One systematic review in 2017 showed that cranberry products significantly reduced the incidence of UTIs, indicating that cranberry products may be effective particularly for individuals with recurrent infections. When the quality of meta-analyses on the efficacy of cranberry products for preventing or treating UTIs was examined, large variation was evident, resulting from inconsistencies in clinical research methods.
In October 2018, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellences recommendation for self-care for lower UTIs in people aged 16 and over states that no evidence was found on cranberry products or urine alkalinising agents to treat lower UTI.
Cranberry juice has a level of acidity that may erode tooth enamel.
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What Else To Know About Urinary Tract Infection
Officially this might not be a dietary supplement, but Phenazopyridine hydrochlo-ride has a specific analgesic effect on the urinary tract. Its a dye that coats the lining of the urinary tract and acts like an anesthetic to reduce UTI pain and perhaps even the burning and urgency. Some examples of products that contain this compound are AZO and URISTAT.
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But What About Cranberry Juice Can It Really Help
Cranberries, and in turn cranberry juice, contain a group of chemicals called proanthocyanidins . These can prevent the bacteria responsible for UTIs attaching properly to tissues in the urinary tract. If the bacteria cant attach properly then they cannot grow and cause the infection. However there are mixed opinions on whether or not it works in preventing UTIs. Some studies have shown some small benefits to healthy, non-pregnant, women who suffer from repeated infections while others have showed no benefit at all. Interestingly, there was a large number of drop-out in some of these studies due to volunteers finding it difficult to consume so much cranberry juice!
This is where the problem with cranberry juice can lie. Cranberries are very bitter and so to make cranberry juice easy to drink, lots of sugar is added about three teaspoons of sugar in every 100 ml! This means with a typical 300 mL glass of cranberry juice you would have had more than your recommended intake of sugar for the day!
If you suffer from repeated urinary tract infections, you might want to consider a low dose of antibiotics Hiprex is used commonly in the UK to prevent repeated infections. Discuss it with your doctor and look at trying to prevent infections by following the steps outlined above.
How Cranberry Juice Treats Urinary Tract Infections
A mixture of cranberry juice, water, and sweeteners found in cranberry juice cocktail was used for the study because it is the most popular cranberry beverage. The researchers discovered that in petri dishes, cranberry metabolites in the juice prevented E. coli from sticking to other bacteria, limiting its ability to grow and multiply. If E. coli is able to connect with other bacteria, such as the bacteria found in the urinary tract, it forms a layer or biofilm. This allows the bacteria to multiply and produce an infection.
A number of controlled clinical trials these are carefully designed and conducted scientific studies done in humans have concluded that cranberry juice really is effective for preventing urinary tract infections, says study researcher Terri Anne Camesano, PhD, in a news release. That has important implications, considering the size of the problem and the health care costs involved.
Urinary tract infections are more common among women than men. According to the researchers, one in three women has had a urinary tract infection.
Urinary tract infections can occur anywhere along the urinary tract, which includes the bladder, urethra, and ureter. These infections account for 8 million trips to the doctors office every year and cost more than $1.6 billion to treat.
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Cut Back On Meat And Poultry
Some studies, such as one published in August 2018 in the journal mBio, have linked contaminated poultry and meat to E.coli bacteria strains that can cause UTIs. These studies havent proven that eating meat or poultry causes UTIs. In fact, some E.coli can live in the intestines without causing any problems. However, bacteria from the gut can enter the urinary tract and cause infection. This risk is greater in women than men, because women have shorter urethras than men, meaning the bacteria has less distance to travel to reach the bladder.
Cutting back on meat and focusing on fruits and veggies may slightly cut your risk of UTIs. According to a study of Buddhists in Taiwan, published in January 2020 in Scientific Reports, compared with nonvegetarians, vegetarians had a 16 percent lower risk of UTI.
Juice Has More Sugar Than Cranberry Supplements
The American Heart Association recommends that women and men have no more than 25 and 36 grams of added sugar per day, respectively. While natural sugars are naturally found in foods , added sugars are added during processing, cooking, or preparation . Think of it as a budget you can spend your grams of added sugar however youd like, but its best to stay under the recommended daily limit for your gender.
An eight-ounce serving of cranberry juice cocktail contains a total of 25 grams of sugar and about 23 grams of that is added sugar. Nearly equivalent to the sugar content in eight ounces of soda, one serving of cranberry juice cocktail would spend most of your added sugar budget.
Of course, you could drink unsweetened cranberry juice, but its mouth-puckering, tart flavor makes it unpleasant for most people to drink every day.
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What Can Make You Pee A Lot
Can You Flush Out A Urinary Tract Infection
In general, patients with urinary tract infections should consume six to eight glasses of water per day. To flush out the infection from the urinary system, you should drink five to two liters of water every day. When the infection is present in the system, drinking liquids until the urine is clear and the stream is forceful is the best way to get it out.
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You Have To Drink Quite A Bit Of Juice To Reap The Benefits
Most research suggests that 8-10 ounces of at least 27% cranberry juice can help support urinary tract health but as with most things, consistency is key. That means for the most benefit, you would need to drink cranberry juice daily. Over time, that adds up.
A typical eight-ounce serving of cranberry juice cocktail contains about 110 calories. While that doesnt seem like a huge amount, its not all about calories. Its important to look at overall dietary patterns.
The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that at least half of your fruit intake should be from whole fruits instead of juice. Most adults should aim to eat about 2 cups of fruit per day, so one cup of cranberry juice takes up your entire juice allotment for the day. And when you opt for juice over the whole fruit, youre missing out on important nutrients like fiber that help support gut health.
Data Synthesis And Analysis
Meta-analyses were performed using Stata SE software . Statistical significance was defined as P< 0.05 , unless otherwise stated. Heterogeneity was quantified using both the I2 statistic and the chi-square test, with an I2 value of 50% considered substantial heterogeneity. We employed a fixed-effect model using the Mantel-Haenszel method to estimate the summary risk if the heterogeneity was low to moderate . Otherwise, we applied a random-effects model using the DerSimonian-Laird method . As the primary summary risk estimate, the risk ratio was calculated as a measure of effect for dichotomous outcomes in individual studies. If there was > 1 time point for UTI measures , UTI data reported as the primary outcome in the publication were used for the main risk ratio estimate. A funnel plot was drawn to visually evaluate small-study effects, formerly known as publication bias testing . Because of the small number of included studies , the interpretations of funnel plot symmetry are limited and thus no statistical testing was done.
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Where Can I Find These Home Remedies
These home remedies are readily available at any grocery store or pharmacy. You should make sure that youre buying quality homeopathic treatments that contain only active ingredients and no additives or sugars.
Tea tree oil is widely available at many different stores and online. Again, make sure youre purchasing a high-quality product that contains only the essential oil.
The other ingredients are readily available and affordable so you shouldnt have any problems getting hold of them.
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Clinical Efficacy Of Sdc Consumption In Uti
There was a significant reduction in the incidence of UTIs and time until first UTI recurrence in women consuming SDC, as determined by two separate statistical analyses. First, the six-month UTI rate was compared pre- and post-consumption. Nine of 17 patients reported no UTIs within six months since beginning the study, and the mean UTI rate per six months decreased significantly from 2.4 to 1.1 . Since three patients were taking daily antibiotic prophylaxis which may affect the results, the clinical efficacy was determined with and without these patients. When these women were excluded from analysis, the six-month UTI rate also significantly decreased .
Figure 1
Six-month UTI rates Pre- and Post- sweetened dried cranberry consumption. In 17 patients, the mean pre- and post- SDC consumption UTI rates were 2.4 and 1.1, respectively . The pre-consumption UTI rate is based on one half of the total number of UTIs in the past year or the total UTIs in six months prior to entering the study. Post-consumption six-month UTI rate is based on the total number of UTIs reported six months since beginning the study.
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Who Should Try Cranberry Pacs
Cranberry PACs are especially helpful for people who are concerned about their urinary tract health. Additionally, a meta-analysis of over a dozen trials found that cranberry PACs were most effective in women with frequent urinary tract issues.
The good news? Cranberries, whether in whole, juice, or extract form, are considered safe to add to most routines, according to the FDA.
However, theres mixed evidence suggesting that people who are predisposed to kidney stones should avoid excessive amounts of cranberries. Cranberries contain high levels of calcium oxalates, a mineral that when accumulated, can lead to kidney stones. If youre prone to kidney stones, consult your doctor before adding cranberries or cranberry-containing products to your daily routine.
Cranberry Juice Will Not Do The Trick
However, the researchers point out that since a cranberry capsule provides the equivalent of 8 ounces of cranberry juice, a patient would need a lot of pure cranberry to prevent an infection.
Dr. Boone explains: It takes an extremely large concentration of cranberry to prevent bacterial adhesion. This amount of concentration is not found in the juices we drink. Theres a possibility it was stronger back in our grandparents day, but definitely not in modern times.
He adds:
Cranberry juice, especially the juice concentrates you find at the grocery store, will not treat a UTI or bladder infection. It can offer more hydration and possibly wash bacteria from your body more effectively, but the active ingredient in cranberry is long gone by the time it reaches your bladder.
He also cautions that a UTI and an overactive bladder may show similar symptoms, and people should seek medical advice if any adverse symptoms appear, to prevent UTIs from developing into kidney infections.
Treatment of UTIs can be complicated. Approximately 20-30% of women have recurring UTIs, and concerns about antibiotic resistance mean that both doctors and patients may be unwilling to use such medication.
Dr. Boone points out that there are many benefits of probiotics, although more research is still needed.
Our Knowledge Center article features more information about the health benefits of cranberries.
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Cranberry For Preventing Utis
If youve stockpiled an arsenal of cranberry juice to battle UTIs, theres bad news: The tart elixir probably isnt helping as much as youd hope.
A review of 24 studies, updated in 2012 and published by the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, looked at whether cranberries could prevent UTIs. Cranberry juice didnt seem to make a statistically significant impact on reducing cases of UTIs.
With that said, there may be some truth to the idea that cranberries can prevent UTIs. It has to do with a substance inside the fruit called proanthocyanidin .
PAC prevents bacteria from sticking to the lining of the bladder,Courtenay Moore, MD, a urologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells Health. It creates a slippery coating in the urothelium , so you just pee out the bacteria.
The theory, according to a study in the journal Phytochemistry, is that PAC makes it more difficult for the bacteria to stick around long enough for form a full-blown infection in your bladder or other spots in your urinary tract. That may explain why three small studies in the Cochrane review found that cranberry products were about as effective at reducing these infections as the low-dose antibiotics doctors prescribe some UTI-prone women for prevention.
Youd have to drink 2 liters of cranberry juice a day to have enough of the active ingredient to be beneficial, she says.