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Cranberry juice (Vaccinium macrocarpon or Vacinnium oxycoccus) has been used for more than a century as a home remedy to prevent and treat urinary tract infection.

Although it was previously thought that cranberry worked by making the urine more acid, more recent evidence suggests that constituents in cranberry called proanthocyanins prevent bacteria from adhering to the walls of the urinary tract. This is thought to allow urine to wash away the bacteria.

A study published in the Canadian Journal of Urology in 2002 compared pure cranberry juice, cranberry extract tablets, and a placebo in 150 women at high risk for infections. Both the juice and tablets both significantly reduced UTI. Of the two, the tablets were the most effective. The National Institutes of Health and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Health recently launched a $2.6 million dollar initiative for research into cranberries.

Cranberry juice should be unsweetened. Unsweetened juice can often be found in health food stores.

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