Does Cranberry Juice Prevent Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)?

Q. My wife has had several urinary tract infections lately. Will cranberry juice be effective for prevention?

A. Cranberry juice has a reputation for reducing the number of urinary tract infections women suffer. Doctors and nutrition scientists have been arguing ever since the 1960s about how effective this strategy may be.

In the most recent analysis, Dutch researchers compared cranberry tablets to the antibiotic trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra) for one year (PLOS One, online Apr. 4, 2014). Although the antibiotic was slightly more effective at preventing urinary tract infections, it also led to bacterial resistance. Cranberries didn’t cause resistance.

The researchers could not find a statistically significant difference between outcomes of the two treatments. If your wife tries cranberries, she will need to be monitored to make sure the infection has not returned.

We would like to hear from others about their experience with cranberry juice or cranberry extract. Has it worked for you or was it an expensive waste of time? We do worry about the high sugar content of some commercial cranberry juice products. Let us know how you have avoided that problem?