(NAPS)—If you or someone you care about is among the estimated 150 million women who’ll have a urinary tract infection (UTI) this year, you may be relieved to know that cranberry juice may be a nutritional approach to help avoid the infection in the first place.
The Problem
Approximately 60 percent of women will experience a UTI in their lifetimes and one in four will suffer a recurrence within six months.
(NAPS)—If you or someone you care about is among the estimated 150 million women who’ll have a urinary tract infection (UTI) this year, you may be relieved to know that cranberry juice may be a nutritional approach to help avoid the infection in the first place.
The Problem
Approximately 60 percent of women will experience a UTI in their lifetimes and one in four will suffer a recurrence within six months.
UTIs are typically treated with prescribed antibiotics; however, antibiotic resistance—when bacteria stop responding to the drugs designed to kill them—is possibly the single most important infectious disease threat people face today.
In fact, each year, more than two million Americans are infected by germs that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die as a result.
According to an omnibus survey conducted by KRC of 1,000 Americans, nine in 10 adults understand that overusing antibiotics can be harmful to one’s health. So what’s the alternative?
An Answer
Thankfully, there is a small, nutrient-dense fruit that can help defend your body against UTIs. The best part? You don’t need a prescription for it.
It’s the cranberry.
“More than 50 years of well-documented research points to cranberries’ unique ability to block certain bad bacteria,” said Dr. Christina Khoo, Director of Global Health Sciences and Regulatory Affairs at Ocean Spray. “This makes cranberries one delicious option that may help prevent urinary tract infections.”
Dr. Khoo notes that the key to avoiding the infection altogether is consuming an eight-ounce glass of cranberry juice daily. People shouldn’t wait until they have a UTI to drink cranberry juice, because once the symptoms start, they’ll likely need a course of antibiotics.
According to that same omnibus survey, consuming cranberry juice daily shouldn’t be a problem—three-quarters of adults would rather drink a glass of cranberry juice a day than take antibiotics a few times a year.
At a time when antibiotic resistance threatens public health around the world, research shows that consuming cranberry juice daily can be a nutritional approach to reducing symptomatic UTIs and, as a result, may be a useful way to decrease the worldwide use of antibiotics. So it seems cranberry juice is more than a refreshing drink—it may also improve the quality of life for women who suffer from UTIs by reducing their trips to the doctor, their lab costs and antibiotic use.
Learn More
For further information about antibiotic resistance and how you can #DrinkToDefend your body against UTIs, visit the experts at Ocean Spray online at www.cranberryhealth.com.
To view the full list of sources, visit www.cranberryhealth.com/sources.
