Does Cranberry Juice Prevent Urinary Tract Infections?

When it comes to your urinary wellness, you may have heard that cranberry juice can give you a boost. True, cranberry juice can benefit your sexual health, and overall wellbeing, in a number of ways, but that’s not to say that you should proceed without caution. There is also a fair share of risks when it comes to indulging in the tangy, often bitter, red liquid, so you need to weigh up the pros and cons.

 

Let’s start with the benefits of drinking cranberry juice. According to award-winning wellness writer Hope Gillette, ‘There is significant evidence to suggest drinking cranberry juice can help prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs), though there are no guidelines on how much juice should be imbibed to stave off those unpleasant episodes. In the early stages of investigation into the benefits of cranberry juice, experts thought the drink made urine more acidic, therefore creating an environment where bacteria responsible for a UTI were unable to grow. That thinking has now been modified; instead of just creating more acidic urine, scientists feel cranberry juice—and other juices as well—can help prevent bacteria from sticking to the walls of the urinary tract system. The exact mechanism behind this is not clear. Some studies have shown cranberry juice alters the bacteria itself, and other studies have indicated the potent juice leaves behind a slippery coating in the body’s system.’

 

However, while the most well-known benefit of cranberry juice is to urinary health, there are other systems in your body that can benefit from the power of cranberries:

 

1. Overall Health: Gillette explains, ‘Cranberries are rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals, substances thought to help promote a healthy immune and cardiovascular system.’

 

2. Oral Health: By decreasing the number of bacteria present on your gums, unsweetened cranberry juice can also help prevent a build-up of dental plaque in your mouth.

 

3. Kidney Stone Prevention: Gillette points out, ‘Cranberries contain quinic acid, a substance medical experts feel helps prevent the formation of kidney stones; however, at the same time, cranberry juice also contains the chemical oxalate, which contributes to kidney stone formation.’

 

Moving on to the negative side of drinking cranberry juice, it’s important to not that this remedy is not a cure-all for everything that ails your urinary system. Gillette details, ‘One instance in which cranberry juice is not recommended is in cases of  interstitial cystitis (IC). Also known as painful bladder disease, interstitial cystitis occurs when the lining of the bladder becomes damaged and allows urine to come into contact with sensitive tissue. By drinking cranberry juice, which is very acidic, people with interstitial cystitis can find the condition aggravated, and unfortunately, because IC is commonly misdiagnosed as a UTI, cranberry juice is often the first thing women reach for when symptoms occur.’

 

Let’s look at some other risks associated with drinking cranberry juice:

 

1. Oral Health: Yes, while cranberry juice has been shown to prevent the build-up of plaque, it may also do some damage to your pearly whites. ‘While some evidence suggests the juice can keep bacteria out of the mouth, due to its high acidity, too much cranberry juice may cause the enamel of the teeth to wear thin,’ says Gillette. ‘Not all juices are pure juice, either, and those with high sugar content will be just as bad for teeth as soda.’

 

2. Diabetes and Digestive Health: ‘People who are diabetics and those with sensitive stomachs should proceed with caution when it comes to cranberry juice consumption,’ Gillette warns. ‘Too much cranberry juice may cause stomach upset, diarrhoea and elevated blood sugar levels.’

 

3. Heart Health: Gillette comments, ‘In some reported cases, cranberry juice has also been shown to interfere with certain heart medications. The wrong combination of juice and medication may lead to life-threatening internal bleeding.’

Categories: cranberry juice, drinking cranberry, health gillette, interstitial cystitis, kidney stone, oral health, prevent urinary, Risks, tract infections, urinary tract

Could Kidney Stones Be Caused by Environmental Factors?

If your kidneys are plagued by tiny, jagged orbs that cause blinding pain on their journey downward – better known as kidney stones – you’re not alone. According to 2012 figures from researchers at the University of California, rates of kidney stones have doubled since 1994, which makes kidney stones a more common wellness problem than heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. As new research from the Journal of Urology indicates that rates of these little nightmares aren’t going down anytime soon, it seems as though kidney stones will be a health concern for years to come.

 

For the Journal of Urology study, the researchers calculated many people who came in to emergency rooms between 2006 and 2009 were ultimately diagnosed with kidney stones. The number of kidney stone-related ER visit increased by 11% over the short study period, and kidney stones were found to be increasing in women significantly more so than men. In fact, the number of female kidney stone ER visits increased at double the male rate. According to lead study author Khurshid R. Ghani, MD, MS, FRCS, clinical assistant professor in the department of urology at the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor VA Healthcare System, ‘There is a condition called metabolic syndrome, which is used to describe the condition when hypertension, obesity, and diabetes are preset in the same patient. This by far, in my opinion, is the major risk factor [for kidney stones].’

 

When your wellbeing is affected by kidney stones, this means that your body is not diluting the minerals and acid salts in your system with urine as it should, and therefore high concentrations of these minerals and salts form into the painful stones that you eventually pass through your urethra. Dr Ghani points out that, in general, you’re likely to have high concentrations of uric acid if you have diabetes, which puts you at a raised risk for stones. Moreover, if you also consume too much salt in your diet – which many people with hypertension do – this just compounds your high risk. Plus, a lack of exercise leads to crystallization of minerals in urine, and many people with metabolic syndrome or obesity lead sedentary lifestyles.

 

However, even though kidney stones seem like an inevitable outcome of metabolic syndrome, there are also environmental causes of the painful stones. Dr Ghani notes that some of these factors are more established scientifically than others, but they’re worth exploring if weight and other factors can’t explain away your kidney stones:

 

1. Living in the “Stone Belt”: In warmer parts of the country or in summer, kidney stones are more likely because heat is a major contributor to stone formation. Why? ‘In one word: dehydration,’ says Dr. Ghani. ‘Hot weather and poor fluid intake lead to urine formation that is “supersaturated” with crystals.’

 

2. Eating too much animal protein: When you eat animal protein, your body excretes more calcium which can lead to a build-up of the mineral in your system. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases states that animal proteins also reduce the levels of calcium-dissolving citrate in your urine.

 

3. Stress: In 2012, researchers from the University of Minnesota found that losing of a loved one, your job, or another major stressful event can indicate you’ll suffer from at least two kidney stones in one year – especially in women.

 

4. Not eating organic foods: Your biggest exposure to cadmium is through food, present as a contaminant from the phosphates used in synthetic fertilizers, and research shows that high urinary cadmium levels are associated with a 40% higher chance of developing kidney stones.

Categories: animal protein, dr ghani, environmental factors, high concentrations, kidney stone, kidney stones, Metabolic Syndrome, painful stones, stones, stones nbsp