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Cranberries & Cystitis

Do Cranberries Prevent Urinary Tract Infections & Cystitis?

The cranberry, native to North America, has long been hailed as a cure and preventative for urinary tract infections but how much truth is there in this?

In the past, cranberries were linked to UTIs and cystitis for two reasons: firstly because of their acidity (cranberries contain a range of acids: citric, malic, benzoic, quinic) which was thought eradicate bacteria, and secondly because they contain high levels of Proanthocyanidins and Flavonols (thought to decrease adherence of E-coli with fimbriae to the cell walls).

We now know that many strains of bacteria, including strains of E.coli (the bacterium which causes of the vast majority of UTI’s), actually thrive in an acid environment. Also, studies have shown that, whilst Proanthocyanidins and Flavonols do increase the levels of energy that E-Coli needs to expend to attach to cells, they are not able to prevent bacteria from multiplying. They have been shown to be successful, to some degree, in protecting against Streptococcus mutans and H-Pylori bacteria but the European Food Safety Authority in 2011 found claims about Proanthocyanidins in relation to E-Coli in UTIs to be unsubstantiated.

Nonetheless, testing of the properties of cranberries in relation to UTIs found a component that could in fact be more helpful: D-Mannose.

D-Mannose occurs naturally, in small amounts, in cranberries but needs to be taken in larger quantities to be effective against E.coli. In order to gain any effectiveness from drinking cranberry juice as a preventative for UTIs, you would have to drink two 220ml glasses of cranberry juice three times a day (or take a cranberry extract 300-400mg twice a day) for a number of months (Lynch, 2006). Though studies have shown that even at this level of consumption cranberries may only prevent a maximum of 50% of UTIs from occurring (Jepson et al, 2012).

Following the application made by Ocean Spray related to their cranberry products, theEFSA Panel concluded in 2009 "the evidence provided is not sufficient to establish a cause and effect relationship between the consumption of O S cranberry products and the reduction f the risk of UTI in women by inhibiting the adhesion of certain bacteria in the urinary tract."

Why Alkalise?

Urine pH can significantly impact the speed in which bacteria can multiple.

If you have ever spoken to us here at Sweet Cures®, or a urology specialist, you will know that it is suggested that people who suffer from E-coli related Urinary Tract Infections can use their diet to adjust their urine ph. Tipping it to being slightly alkaline (about 7.5 on the pH scale).

The reason for this, as you may already know, is that E.coli bacteria can multiply at nearly double their normal rate in an acidic environment. It is not difficult to see the impact that this has when an infection is underway.

In this example, the E.coli multiplies every 20 minutes in a neutral environment. In an alkaline environment they are slowed to multiplying every 30 minutes, and in acid, they can multiply every 10 minutes. Let's look at how that works out over an eight hour period, showing the results every hour;

It becomes clear that the difference between neutral urine and alkaline urine is enormous, and when compared yet again with acidic urine, the numbers are staggeringly different!

It is imperative to note that urine is naturally acidic, so by doing nothing at all to change that, it is easy to see how a minor infection could quickly turn into a full-blown attack with a possibility of the outbreak spreading to the kidneys.

Also notable is that, in this demonstration, we started with a single bacterium, this is very unrealistic. When you are at the point of being able to feel or smell early indications of an infection, there are already billions of bacteria, every one of which can produce a similar output to the single bacterium we started within our table. Enough, in fact, that this web page hasn't the space to display the figures involved!

With those numbers in mind, and the knowledge that Cranberry Juice, orange juice, alcohol, and Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) tablets have a potent acidifying effect on the urine, do you want to be making your urine more acidic during a UTI as popular myth would dictate? Our grandmothers new best, it seems when they suggested Lemon Barley.