Evidence Level
Strong
Cranberry products for UTI prevention have the largest evidence base of any supplement in urinary health. The 2023 Cochrane review by Jepson et al. analyzed 50 RCTs with 8,857 participants and found a 26% reduction in UTI risk, with the strongest benefit in women with recurrent UTIs (RR 0.67). The review noted that products providing at least 36mg of PACs daily showed more consistent results. The 36mg PAC threshold was established by research from Howell et al. (2005), who identified this as the minimum dose to achieve significant anti-adhesion activity in urine bioassays. Current best practice is to use standardized extracts delivering quantified PAC content rather than relying on juice alone.