A new study says the conventional wisdom about cranberry juice is only conventional — not really wisdom. Long believed to combat urinary tract infections (UTI), cranberry juice is revealed in a new study not to have an effect when it comes to UTI. The study, by Dr. Manisha Juthani-Mehta, Peter H. Van Ness, and Luann Bianco et al. was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Those looking for a natural remedy to the discomforts of UTI have turned for decades to cranberry juice and other cranberry products. The notion of cranberries as a UTI antidote became so popular that, of course, manufacturers started selling cranberry in capsule form. (Cranberries are thought to change the pH balance in the UT, helping prevent infection.) But the new study agrees with some previous research that says the use of cranberries to combat UTI is ineffectual. The good news? If you like the juice there’s nothing wrong with drinking it. Just don’t expect miracles. The Yale Medical School professor Juthani-Mehta says that: “for women that enjoy eating cranberry products or drinking cranberry juice, I encourage them to continue doing so.”
