Cranberries Squashed as Folk Remedy for Urinary Infections

October 28, 2016

Oct 28: Cranberry capsules didn't prevent or cure urinary infections in nursing home residents in a study challenging persistent unproven claims to the contrary.

Cranberries

The research adds to decades of conflicting evidence on whether cranberries in any form can prevent extremely common bacterial infections, especially in women.

Many studies suggesting a benefit were based on weak science, but that hasn't stopped marketers and even some health care providers from recommending cranberry juice or capsules as an inexpensive way to avoid these uncomfortable and potentially risky infections.

The new study , published online Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, used rigorous methods and the results are convincing, according to a journal editorial. Health care providers who encourage using cranberry products as a prevention method "are doing their patients a disservice," the editorial says.

THE INFECTIONS

Urinary infections lead to nearly 9 million doctor visits and more than 1 million hospitalizations each year. Men, because of their urinary anatomy, are less vulnerable, while almost half of all U.S. women will develop at least one of these infections in their lifetime. Symptoms can include painful, frequent urination and fatigue.

Antibiotics are often used to treat the infections, which usually are not serious but can lead to kidney infections and sometimes dangerous bloodstream infections. Urinary infections are the most commonly diagnosed infection in nursing home residents, but they often have no obvious symptoms and evidence suggests antibiotics have little effect in these older patients without symptoms, the study authors say.

THE STUDY

The research included 147 older women in nursing homes who were randomly assigned to take two cranberry capsules or dummy pills for a year. The number of women with laboratory evidence of infection — bacteria and white blood cells in their urine — varied during the study but averaged about 29 percent overall in both groups.

Ten infections in the cranberry group caused overt symptoms, compared with 12 in the placebo group but that difference wasn't statistically significant. There also were no differences in hospitalizations and deaths between the two groups. The National Institutes of Health helped pay for the research, led by Dr. Manisha Juthani-Mehta, a Yale University infectious disease specialist.

Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., one of the best-known makers of cranberry-based products, promotes the purported health benefits on its website. Responding to the new study, company spokeswoman Kellyanne Dignan cited previous studies that suggested a benefit and said, "We take great pride in our cranberry products and the health benefits associated with them."

THE ADVICE

People who think they have a urinary infection should see a doctor for diagnosis and treatment, but avoid cranberry products "in place of proven treatments for infections," according to the National Institutes of Health alternative medicine branch.

The journal editorial says additional research is needed to find effective treatments for nursing home residents and others.

"It is time to move on from cranberries," the editorial says.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

India’s food trends for a post-COVID-19 era

Agencies

April 28,2020

As the world grapples with the impact of the novel coronavirus, daily interaction with the outside world --- public and retail spaces, restaurants, educational institutions, and even with each other has been and will continue to be reoriented prioritising personal hygiene and public health.

The sensibilities are building towards and leading to major changes in how the country's food service industry is expected to operate.

Based on a recent consumer survey by restaurant tech platform, Dineout, Indian diners are now ranking safety assurances and premier hygiene as top factors when it comes to choosing a restaurant to dine in.

The survey by Dineout conducted across 20 cities revealed that in a post-COVID-19 era, 81 per cent diners will prefer digital menus at restaurants, while 77 per cent of people will continue to want to dine out.

The survey found that 23 per cent people would prefer continuing with delivery/takeaway and online payment becomes the most preferred option with 60 per cent votes.

Diner's response to Contactless Dining:

Over 96 per cent demand better waitlist management

81 per cent consumers would rather scan a QR on their phone to place an order instead of handling physical menus or tablet-based digital menus.

After a dining experience, 60 per cent prefer seamless wallet-based digital payments over cash/cards 85 per cent would choose a digital valet over waiting in possibly contaminated public spaces and 84 per cent would prefer offering digital feedback over physical feedback collection.

What do people want to eat?

The report also revealed that most of India has been craving Pizza since the lockdown, except in Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata where their popular and indigenous Biryani recipes reign supreme.

Which restaurants are diners waiting to go to?

77 per cent respondents claimed that they are waiting to dine out with friends and family once the lockdown is lifted.

Big Chill, Barbeque Nation and Social emerged as favourites in Delhi, while Mumbaikars picked Global Fusion, Poptates and Asia Kitchen. Bangaloreans miss going to pubs like Toit, Vapour and Barbeque Nation.

Aminia, Arsalan and Momo I Am emerge as the top picks in Kolkata.

Contrary to popular belief, Delhitties picked vegetarian over non-vegetarian food.

Bangaloreans and Lucknowis would rather have their drinks over food.

Besides the new parameters for restaurant selection, the factors deciding consumer delight have also seen a major overhaul as hygiene takes precedence. Consumers would prefer that the total number of reservations in a certain period be limited with the option to pre-select the seating, ample amounts of sanitisers at tables along with UV sanitised utensils whenever possible.

Hygiene ratings with detailed hygiene information, regular hygiene checks & usage of mask and disposable gloves by waiters are likely to be the new standard, with diners expecting service personnel to sanitise tables & chairs after every use.

Dineout recently unveiled the ï¿½contactless dining suite' to help restaurants survive and thrive in a post-COVID-19 world. The brand will also provide PPE Safety Kits to Restaurants to help ensure hygiene measures and is facilitating COVID free certification for restaurants through a licensed lab to ensure all microbiological tests are in place before restaurants restart post the lockdown.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Hands down, men worse at bathroom hygiene that prevents coronavirus: Study

News Network

March 6,2020

Mar 6: The spread of the new coronavirus is shining the spotlight on a little-discussed gender split: men wash their hands after using the bathroom less than women, years of research and on-the-ground observations show.

Health officials around the world advise that deliberate, regular handwashing is one of the best weapons against the virus which causes a flu-like respiratory illness that can kill and has spread to around 80 countries.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's online fact sheet "Handwashing: A corporate activity," cites a 2009 study that finds "only 31% of men and 65% of women washed their hands" after using a public restroom.

Social media comments about men's handwashing lapses forced an august British institution to caution visitors about bathroom behaviour this week.

After author Sathnam Sanghera complained on Twitter about "grown," "educated" men in the British Library toilets not washing their hands, the library responded, putting up additional signs reminding patrons to wash their hands in men's and women's bathrooms.

Thanks to "visitor feedback," a spokesman told Reuters, "we have increased further the number of posters in public toilets so that visitors are reminded of the importance of good hygiene at exactly the point where they can wash their hands."

Men and women approach handwashing after using the restroom differently, according to multiple surveys and field studies.

"Women wash their hands significantly more often, use soap more often, and wash their hands somewhat longer than men," according to a 2013 Michigan State University field study conducted by research assistants who observed nearly 4,000 people in restrooms around East Lansing, Michigan.

The study found 14.6% of men did not wash their hands at all after using the bathroom and 35.1% wet their hands but did not use soap, compared to 7.1% and 15.1% of women, respectively.

"If you stand in the men's bathroom at work, and watch men leave, they mostly don't wash their hands if they used the urinal," said one New York City public relations executive, who did not want to be identified for fear of alienating his colleagues.

Since the virus's spread, he's seen an uptick in men's handwashing at work, he noted. "I, for the record, do wash my hands all the time," he added.

Female medical staff in critical care units "washed their hands significantly more often than did their male counterparts after patient contact," a 2001 study published in the American Journal of Infection Control found.

Middle-aged women with some college education had the highest level of knowledge about hand hygiene, a survey published in 2019 by BMC Public Health, an open access public health journal, found.

Early information about coronavirus infection in China shows that men may be more susceptible to the disease. Just over 58% of the more than 1,000 COVID-19 patients reported in China through Jan. 29, 2020, were male, research published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows.

Researchers have not linked the difference to hand hygiene.

Comments