Cranberry Juice May Reduce Risk of Stomach Disease

BEIJING--Regular consumption of cranberry juice appears to suppress H. pylori infection, a major cause of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer, according to a study published in Helicobacter (10, 2:139, 2005) (www.blackwell-synergy.com). Researchers conducted a prospective, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial in China by randomly dividing 189 adults infected with H. pylori into two groups; 97 participants were given two 250 ml of cranberry juice per day and 92 were given placebo.

Researchers tested participants for infection using the C-urea breath test at 35 and 90 days of treatment and found negative test results for infection in 14 of the 97 participants from the cranberry juice group (14.43 percent) and five of the 92 from the placebo group (5.44 percent). Eleven individuals from the cranberry juice group and two from the placebo group were negative for infection at both 35 and 90 days of experiment.

Researchers concluded regular consumption of cranberry juice may suppress H. pylori infection in populations at high risk for gastric cancer.