Women prone to urinary tract infections often use cranberry juice to prevent an episode or make cystitis go away. Placebo effect or true health ally?
It can be called a “woman’s nightmare” without exaggeration. Pain and a burning sensation when urinating, an uncontrollable urge to go to the toilet, sometimes blood in the urine… Cystitis affects between 800,000 and 850,000 French women every year. Half of women will have at least one in their lifetime, and a third will have multiple. “In France, there is a urinary tract infection every 30 seconds,” summarizes Jean-Marc Bohbot (1), an infectious disease specialist at the Institut Fournier in Paris, to further highlight the scourge.
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Whether occasional or frequent, cystitis profoundly changes women’s daily lives, their emotional and sexual lives. For those who suffer from it, cranberry juice (or other commercial products containing fruit extract, such as capsules) is often a reflex to relieve symptoms of the infection or prevent recurrences. But what about its effectiveness?
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Help prevent recurrences?
The therapeutic interest in cranberries has never been demonstrated in any study. In 20 to 25% of cases, a urinary tract infection clears up simply by drinking a liter and a half of water and urinating, says Dr. Jean-Marc Bohbot. Cranberry juice would not have been more effective. In other cases, antibiotics are prescribed to treat the infection.
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On the other hand, cranberries can help prevent cystitis episodes, according to an infectious disease expert. Let us remind you that urinary tract infection is caused by the colonization of the bladder walls by uropathogenic bacteria, most of which come from the intestines. In 75 to 80% of cases, it is the bacteria Escherichia coli, better known as E. coli, that attaches itself to the bladder and causes inflammation. However, “cranberries contain a substance called proanthocyanidin, which can prevent the adhesion of bacteria,” explains the doctor.
To do this, the practitioner recalls the importance of a large amount of active products and therefore recommends to prefer cranberry capsules to juice, as the former is richer in the given substance. “You can also combine it with propolis, which enhances the effects of cranberries, and D-mannose, a simple sugar that can help ‘detach’ bacteria,” adds the doctor.
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In case of occasional cystitis (three or four a year), Dr. Jean-Marc Bohbot recommends taking capsules (once or twice a day) in favorable conditions for urinary tract infections, in the summer and when sexual activity is more stable, for example. “In summer, we drink a lot, but we also sweat more than normal, so we go to the toilet less. However, the dangerous thing is to keep the urine in the bladder,” explains the doctor. Multiple intercourse can cause inflammation of the vagina.
Find the cause rather than treat the symptom
The anti-adhesive effect of proanthocyanidin has been proven by science, the effectiveness of cranberry in reducing the frequency of cystitis in women as well. However, there is no consensus within the scientific community.
In his book Fake News Health (2), the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm), reports that a study even showed that “cranberry-based capsules were no more effective than placebo beetroot-based capsules in developing cystitis.” Inserm also points to the lack of standardization of cranberry-based products, which makes it difficult to compare them and extrapolate the results of existing studies.
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In a 2014 opinion, ANSES (National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety) states that current data are insufficient to confirm the effectiveness of the fruit in the prevention of urinary tract infections, but continues to closely monitor scientific news on this topic. .
If some women use it and get relief from it, so much the better
Jean-Marc Bohbot, infectious disease specialist
“If some women use it and find relief, so much the better,” comments infectious disease expert Jean-Marc Bohbot. If these products can help, the doctor reminds that they will never solve the fundamental problem. but this is the goal to be achieved. “Women prone to cystitis often suffer from an imbalance of gut microbiota and are often constipated. As well as vaginal microbiota. the bacteria then travel to the vagina. Thus, we can prescribe probiotics for these two flora,” explains the doctor. And to conclude how important a complete urodynamic assessment is in case of regular cystitis.
(1) Dr Jean-Marc Bohbot co-authored with Rica Etienne Take care of your vaginal microbiotapublished by Marabout, €6.90, and: Cystitis, a woman’s nightmarepublished by Flammarion, €19.
(2) Fake News HealthFrom Inserm, published by Le Cherche Midi, €14.
Source: Le Figaro
