No one likes to be told, “I told you so.”
But there’s a BUNCH of conventional medicine docs that sure as heck need to hear it anyway.
For years now they’ve treated one of the best natural methods for preventing urinary tract infections (UTIs) like it’s just a silly old wives’ tale.
They labeled the folks who recommend it… like me… quacks.
Worst of all, they dismissed the first-hand experiences of the countless women already using this potent UTI-fighter to stay infection free.
“It’s just wishful thinking,” they were told.
Well, gentlemen, it’s time to pull up a chair and eat some crow. Because a new study confirms what I’ve been saying all along.
Cranberry CAN help prevent UTIs.
And it works precisely how natural health experts have always said it did. Elements in the tart fruit prevent bacteria from setting up shop in your urinary tract.
UTIs can cause serious complications
If you’re among the half of women in the United States who has battled an uncomfortable and painful UTI … or will, one day… this is FANTASTIC news.
Because many women find once they’ve experienced a UTI they’re more likely to have another (and another). Plus, they become increasingly common as we age.
And men, don’t you tune out yet, because YOU can get UTIs too.
Although women’s anatomy means they’re more likely to develop these infections guys do get them as well.
The E. coli bacteria that cause UTIs lives in ALL of our bodies. And YOUR chance of having one goes up as you get older too.
UTIs aren’t JUST painful either. They can cause confusion and falls in older folks.
And left untreated, one can even spread to your kidneys causing permanent damage.
Serving up crow & cranberries for dinner
For the study, researchers fed female pigs a cranberry powder supplement. Then they analyzed their urine.
They were looking for something specific.
Scientists call it “anti-adhesion activity.” But all it really is are the tell-tale signs that E. coli bacteria had trouble getting a foothold in the pig’s urinary tract.
And they found that folks like us were onto something from the start.
Their experiment confirmed that compounds in the cranberry supplement CAN help keep UTI-triggering bugs from hanging on. (Would you like some salt with that crow, guys?)
But to their surprise, it likely wasn’t the proanthocyanidins that many folks thought were responsible.
Instead, complex carbohydrates with the equally strange name arabinoxyloglucans (ABXs) get the credit.
So why haven’t ABXs been pinpointed before?
Well, researchers say these cranberry-derived compounds—kissing-cousins to cellulose—are just hard to detect. So they were simply overlooked before.
Prevent infections with cranberry
The conventional medicine approach to UTIs is to simply wait around until one strikes and take an antibiotic to treat it.
But the overuse of antibiotics and the rise in antibiotic-resistant bugs means this isn’t just a bad idea… it’s practically criminal.
Cranberry could help you PREVENT the infection in the first place.
In another study, a daily 500 mg cranberry extract was found to be JUST as effective as an antibiotic in preventing UTIs in women who are prone to them.
Should you still get sick, drinking lots of water and taking a supplement could help you clear the infection faster. And for extra protection add a high-quality probiotic to your routine too.
She is an advocate of self-education and is passionate about the power of group knowledge sharing, like the kind found right here on HealthierTalk.com. Alice loves to share her views on holistic and natural healing as well as her, sometimes contentious, thoughts on the profit-driven inner workings of traditional medicine.
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