Sunday, August 14, 2011

Does cranberry juice prevent pouch infections?


Does cranberry juice prevent pouch infections?
            For decades, some physicians have recommended that persons prone to bladder infections drink up to a quart of cranberry juice every day. The success rate, as shown in several studies, is about 35%. Chemicals within cranberry juice prevent some strains of the E. coli bacterium from adhering to the bladder wall.
            There are no studies yet on cranberry juice and Indiana Pouch infections and there probably won’t be any in the near future, if ever.
            First, a pharmaceutical company can’t patent cranberry juice, so why spend the money on research? Considering the small number of patients with an IP, Ocean Spray, which markets about 70% of the juice in the U.S., probably won’t do any studies, either.
            Second, pouch infections aren’t common, although some unfortunate patients get them repeatedly. The lining of the IP is much different from the lining of the original urinary bladder and the presence of colonic mucus might have either a positive or negative effect on potential infecting organisms. After all, the human colon tolerates most strains of E. coli very well.
            Finally, drinking up to a quart of cranberry juice every day is a challenge. It’s one of the reasons that research studies get scratched – too few participants can drink that much juice every day for the year or more that it takes to gather meaningful statistics.

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