Now, a study from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute is finally shedding some light on the secrets of Cranberry juice’s bacteria fighting power.  According to researchers, 95% of UTIs are a pathogenic strain of the same E. Coli bacteria found in the intestines.  The “bad” E. Coli have little arm-like appendages that grab onto and anchor themselves to the cells of the urinary tract.

        These tiny anchors are important because without them, every time you went to the bathroom, the force of your urine would simply flush the bacteria out of your body.  As soon as the E. Coli get a good grip on the Urinary Tract cell walls – they start multiplying.   

        Cranberries have been known to help as far back as 1620.  Clinical trials were conducted in 1923 and researchers believed cranberries increased the acidity of urine, killing the bacteria.  Sixty years later, scientists realized cranberries did not make urine acidic enough to kill E. Coli.

        Now, a new study theorizes cranberries work to protect you from UTIs in a very different way.  Here’s the new theory: Cranberries contain large amounts of a chemical called proanthocyanidin or PAC. PAC functions almost like a shield that blocks the arms or anchors of E. Coli from attaching to the cells in the urinary tract.  These shields actually make the “anchors” crumble when they try to attach themselves to the urinary tract.