Cranberry Juice - Is it For Diabetics?

If you're diabetic, one of your concerns is recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI). Bacteria just love to thrive in your urinary tract and make you suffer. Your health care provider may counsel you on the right diet and beverages, compliance with your anti-diabetic medications and exercise. Your doctor may also prescribe antibiotics.

Recurrent UTI's, which are often experienced by diabetics, endanger the integrity of your urinary tract and most importantly, your kidneys. If annoying infections keep recurring, your doctor may be more vigilant and prescribe to stronger antibiotics.

The danger of the antibiotics is, the bacteria responsible for your infection can become stronger and resist the killing power of your antibiotic - they develop drug resistance.

Cranberries are known to help relieve UTI's. Originally scientists thought cranberries prevented and treated urinary tract infections due to their high acidity. Recent studies reveal that cranberries prevent bacteria - notably Escherichia coli - from attaching to the walls of the urinary bladder and urethra. In this way, cranberries mitigate UTI's.

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a handful of research studies attesting to decreased bacteriuria (voiding of bacteria in urine) and pyuria (voiding of white blood cells or pus cells in the urine) among elderly women given cranberry juice as compared to women given a placebo. These studies specifically concluded that cranberry beverages reduce frequency of bacteriuria with pyuria. Further, they concluded that the common belief that cranberries decrease incidence of UTI has microbiologic justification.

If you're diabetic and prone to urinary tract infections, wouldn't it be great to take cranberry juice to prevent recurring UTI? But highly sweetened cranberry juice can harm diabetics. The sugar in sweetened juice can make your blood glucose skyrocket.

A study on cranberry juice conducted by Wilson T, Meyers SL, Singh AP, et al entitled, "Favorable Glycemic Response to Low-calorie Cranberry Juice" revealed that low calorie cranberry beverage does not significantly increase sugar levels in diabetics.

The research was conducted in Winona State University involving 6 diabetic men and women. At separate times, each subject was given a drink of regular sweetened cranberry juice, sweetened fruit beverages control, low calorie cranberry juice and low calorie control. The results show a slight peaking of sugar levels to 16 percent above baseline levels when the subjects drank the low calorie cranberry juice beverage. Moreover, the finding revealed that the subject's plasma insulin levels were not any different from the baseline after drinking the low calorie cranberry juice beverage.

Hence, the researchers concluded that low calorie cranberry juice is an acceptable beverage for diabetics.

If you're diabetic with numerous episodes of UTI, isn't this good news? You can safely enjoy a low calorie cranberry cocktail beverage and minimize the discomfort and danger of repeated urinary tract infections.