Fruit juice, Berry juice, Yogurt, & Urinary Tract Infections

How does what you eat affect your odds of getting a urinary tract infection? Researchers in Finland reasoned that because most UTIs are caused by bacteria from the intestines, diet might have a large direct impact on these infections. Many people have heard about the cranberry juice connection. What about other juices? Other foods?

According to their study published in the March 2003 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, women who had a daily glass of fresh fruit juice were 34 percent less likely to get urinary tract infections. Not bad. Those who drank berry juices of any type were significantly more protected. Better. But the most dramatic result came with women who ate yogurt containing active cultures of beneficial bacteria. Probiotics can be powerful. Eating only 3 servings a week made the women in the study almost 80 percent less likely to get an infection!

Now, how about a berry smoothie?