Remedy · fruit

Cranberry and urinary tract infections: what the evidence says

The one berry with a large body of trials behind it. Cranberry products cut repeat urinary infections in some groups of people, but they are not a treatment for an infection you already have.

By the editors of Alimentotherapy Last reviewed October 18, 2026 4 min read Not medical advice

Cranberry

Vaccinium macrocarpon

Best-supported use: Fewer repeat UTIs in women with recurrent infections

EvidenceModeratebest use

The short answer

In a 2023 Cochrane review of 50 trials, people prone to urinary tract infections who took cranberry juice or supplements had fewer symptomatic, lab-confirmed infections, with the clearest results in women with recurrent UTIs, children, and people having procedures such as catheterization Williams 2023. Cranberry is not a treatment for an infection you already have, and the benefit did not show up in elderly people in care, in pregnancy, or in people with bladder-emptying problems Williams 2023; NCCIH.

The evidence, use by use

Each claim graded on human studies only. How we grade

Use	Grade	What the research found
Fewer repeat UTIs in women with recurrent infections	Moderate	Across 8 trials (1,555 women with recurrent UTIs), cranberry products probably lowered the risk of a symptomatic, culture-confirmed infection, by roughly a quarter in relative terms. Williams 2023; NCCIH
Fewer UTIs in children prone to them	Moderate	Five trials in children (504 participants) found fewer culture-confirmed infections with cranberry than without. Williams 2023
Fewer UTIs after a medical procedure such as catheterization or radiotherapy	Moderate	Six trials (1,434 participants) in people made susceptible by an intervention found a lower risk of infection with cranberry. Williams 2023
UTIs in elderly people in long-term care, in pregnancy, or with bladder-emptying problems	Not supported	In these groups the trials showed little or no difference, with low-certainty evidence. Some other higher-risk groups have also shown no benefit. Williams 2023; NCCIH
Clearing an existing UTI	Not supported	Cranberry is not recommended as a treatment for a current infection in any group. A suspected UTI needs a diagnosis and, usually, antibiotics. NCCIH

How cranberry is thought to work

Cranberries contain compounds called proanthocyanidins (PACs). In the lab they stop the strains of E. coli that cause most bladder infections from sticking to the bladder lining Williams 2023. That is a reason to expect cranberry to make an infection less likely to start, and no reason to expect it to clear one that has already taken hold.

Processing matters. Turning cranberries into tablets, capsules or sweetened cocktails can lower the PAC content, which is one explanation offered for why some products and trials disagreeNCCIH. In the Cochrane review, the trials that compared different PAC doses did not show a clear difference between them Williams 2023.

Juice, capsules, or the fruit

The trials used a mix of cranberry juice, concentrated juice drinks and capsules or tablets. The review pooled them together, so it cannot tell you that one form beats another. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, since 2020, allows a qualified label claim for cranberry: supplements may say the evidence for fewer recurrent UTIs in healthy women is "limited", and juice drinks must call it "limited and inconsistent"NCCIH.

In the kitchen

Most cranberry juice sold in stores is a juice cocktail with added sugar, because the pure juice is very sour. If you drink it daily, read the label: a daily sweetened drink adds up. Unsweetened cranberry juice can be diluted with water or sparkling water.

Compared with antibiotics and probiotics

In two trials that compared cranberry with preventive antibiotics, there may have been little or no difference in the number of confirmed infections, though the evidence is limited. In three small trials against probiotics, cranberry came out ahead Williams 2023. If you get frequent UTIs, these are options to weigh with your clinician, not a reason to stop a prescribed plan.

Safety

Burning when you pass urine, needing to go often, cloudy or bloody urine, fever, or pain in your back or side can mean an infection that needs treatment. Do not use cranberry instead of seeing a clinicianNCCIH.

Before you try it: safety and interactions

Who should avoid it or ask first

You take warfarin: the evidence on an interaction is conflicting, so talk with your prescriber before using cranberry products regularly.
You think you have a UTI now: get it diagnosed and treated rather than relying on cranberry.

Possible side effects

Stomach upset and diarrhea when large amounts are consumed, particularly in young children.
Added sugar from sweetened juice cocktails taken daily.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

Amounts found in food appear safe in pregnancy and breastfeeding, but the evidence for larger amounts is not conclusive. Trials in pregnancy did not show fewer UTIs with cranberry. NCCIH; Williams 2023

Medicine interactions

Cranberry juice and cranberry supplements and warfarinCase reports linked cranberry with raised INR and bleeding, but a randomized double-blind trial of 240 mL of cranberry juice a day for two weeks found no change in warfarin levels and no clinically important change in INR. NCCIH calls the evidence conflicting.Probable

Check another food or medicine in the interactions list.

Common questions

Does cranberry juice get rid of a UTI?

No. Cranberry is not recommended as a treatment for an existing urinary tract infection in any group, according to NCCIH. Trials only looked at whether regular cranberry use made new infections less frequent. A suspected UTI needs a clinician and usually antibiotics.

Who does cranberry help with UTIs?

In a 2023 Cochrane review of 50 trials, cranberry products lowered the risk of symptomatic, culture-confirmed UTIs in women with recurrent infections, in children, and in people made susceptible by a medical procedure. Trials in elderly people in long-term care, in pregnancy, and in people with bladder-emptying problems showed little or no benefit.

Is it safe to take cranberry with warfarin?

The evidence is conflicting. NCCIH advises anyone taking warfarin to talk with their health care provider before using cranberry products. Do not start or stop daily cranberry juice or capsules without telling the clinician who monitors your INR.

Sources

Primary research and government sources, each checked on the date this page was reviewed.