Anyone who has ever had a bladder or kidney infection and has had the wisdom to drink PURE, UNFILTERED, UNSWEETENED, ORGANIC CRANBERRY JUICE ... can attest to the wonderful medicinal and balancing effect that this does have on such a condition. .. The juice (which is extremely bitter), .. does a wonderful job of bringing the body back to  a more balanced Alkaline state and away from the Acidic condition of disease.

Unfortunately,.. the majority of cranberry foods in the supermarket are poisoned with sugar and other additives which destroy the healing benefits of the pure cranberry and instead turn them into an unhealthy product for consumers.
... Better to go to the local health food store to find the pure, unadulterated product.

In a healthy person, E coli are not usually infectious. There are only some strains that are truly infectious but Ecoli are mostly tested for in water samples etc as a marker of faecal contamination and hence indicate the possible presence of other more pathogenic organisms that can be carried in the faeces.

Junk science via press release for Thanksgiving from a board in Wisconsin funded by the monopoly Ocean Spray...

Raw carnberries do not have a "sweet" taste by nature, unlike other fruits. So when they're processed into juice and cranberry sauce, large amounts of sugar and high fructose corn syrup are added by manufacturers to make cranberry products more appealing to consumers.

If you want to reap the benefits of cranberries without the poisonous effects of sugar and HFCS you have to learn to "process" the raw cranberries yourself. Try mixing them with organic apples and organic grapes to add "seewtness" but moderately: take heed of Dr Mercola's recommendation on limiting the amount of sugar (fructose) in you blood.

I can not stand cranberry sauce.  However, I do like Cranberry nectar from Knudsens.  I realize it is not the best, but it is a lot better than Ocean Spray.

Mary

I like cranberries, and if I do start to get a UTI cranberry juice usually clears it up right away. (I had gotten them regularly for a while, ut have not had one at all since I removed grains and sugar from my diet and added daily cod liver oil. YIPPY!!!) My only draw back with cranberries is that it gives me a head ache. I do not know why, but if I have it more than once in a blue moon, I soon have a head ache, so I just avoid them.

This isn´t about this article, I was just wondering what to eat if in Dr. Mercola´s opinion fruits and grains are out? I did the MT selftest in Wolcott´s book and I am a carb to mixed type. I would have to eat several pounds of nonstarchy vegetables with my meals to fullfill my carb requirement. I do not have weight problems, I tried from high carb to low carb, I did bodybuilding (do still exercise regularly), I am ripped and looking great, but if I do not get some grains and enough fruits I do not feel well.

Unfortunately I do not like the taste of cranberry juice, it actually also makes my teeth feel like they had an acid bath! I do take a concentrated natural cranberry capsule if I have any urinary problems.

But generally I find anything cranberry on the supermarket shelves has loads of HFCS in it. Like jellied cranberry sauce and most juices.

I have become "Debbie Downer" with all this knowledge of what is good and not good for you. It is getting to be where I cannot knowingly and comfortably eat out anywhere nor can I have dinner or food with friends. It is too bad that being educated about what you put in your body alienates you from the rest of society that blindly believes todays food marketing ploys....

My husband has recently had a cystectomy (bladder removed) due to cancer. His kidneys open directly, via an ostomy to outside, and are therefore very susceptible to infection. The hospital nurses told him to drink loads of cranberry juice, so, being a diabetic, he sweetens it with stevia.

Can someone tell me why " ... eating large amounts of cranberries is not very good for you if you are overweight, have high blood pressure or diabetes"? What constitutes "large amounts"?  I make a terrific raw cranberry relish whenever they are in season.  So simple... 1 lb. fresh cranberries, 1 whole navel orange skin and all, 3/4 C walnuts.   Cut the orange into bite size pieces.  put everything into a food processor with blatde.  Pulse just a few times.  Add 1 T honey if you must, but I like it without. This is incredable delicious and a nutrition powerhouse.  Add a few tablespoons to your yogurt; enjoy as a side to fish/pork/chicken/anything or just as is.  Yum!  But why is this not good for me if I am overweight and slightly high BP?

I like adding frozen cranberries along with frozen blueberries or blackberries to my morning smoothie.  

why not just take the cranberry pills    no sugar to process

Thank you, an interesting article. I had not heard before that D-mannose is so effective, but rather thought there are queries, which I see from Polly H comments may be substantiated. At this time of year cranberries is a popular topic. I have found both the inclusion of dried organic cranberries in juices and food, together with daily use of E27 (dried cranberry powder) mixed in fresh orange juice, from BioCare to be very helpful with UTI s. We drink fresh fruit juices with cranberries included and also they are delicious in our museli breakfast every day. My son was born with a serious kidney problem, and nearly died more than once. We became familiar with a wide range of alternative and orthodox approaches. He is now 14 and after major operations and years of help, is not suffering from kidney problems at present, thank god.

D-mannose might be great for treating urinary tract infections, but I'd like to see a study saying just how great it really is. Just because 90% of urinary tract infections are caused by E. coli doesn't mean that a supplement of D-mannose will be beneficial in 90% of urinary tract infections. A lot of urinary tract infections are caused by E. coli that adhere to the body's cells even in the presence of D-mannose. Look up "D-mannose resistant adhesion."