Cystitis is a urinary infection that mainly affects women. Specific symptoms of cystitis are burning and pain when urinating, which often occur together with an urgent urge to urinate.
This infection is very invasive and causes discomfort in the affected person. Age, however, is not the only risk factor. Sexual intercourse and insufficient intimate hygiene, in fact, seem to be relevant causes, capable of causing this inflammation. Suffice it to think that the most usual causative agent, capable of causing infection, is a bacterium adhering to the intestinal bacterial flora: Escherichia coli.
It has been proven, in fact, that the adhesiveness of this bacterium, granted by the presence of pili or fimbriae, depends so much on the ability of the cells of the vestibule, vagina and urethra to prevent such anchoring.
In this mechanism, hormonal changes play a significant role. Which is why it seems that bacteria are able to attack better during the days of the menstrual cycle rather than those corresponding to the phase of ovulation. Estrogen cooperates greatly in making the vaginal environment acidic, thus hindering the growth of bacteria and subsequent infection.
Suffer from cystitis, eat this fruit, it will relieve pain and infection
Daily ingestion of cranberry products, in juice or capsules, has been promoted as a means of preventing recurrent urinary tract infections. Useful as a note for cystitis, at least from the first half of the past century. At that time there were still no antibiotics and urine acidification was relied on as a process for infections.
Subsequent studies, however, showed that the concentration of this type of acid in the urine was poor for an antibacterial effect unless a large amount of cranberry juice was swallowed. It was later said that several substances found in both cranberries and blackberries did not cause bacteria to attach to the urinary tract. However, it should be noted, in humans this mechanism has not yet been proven.
Although several clinical studies have been done on the prevention of urinary tract infections with cranberries, the results are inconsistent and the effectiveness, if any, is still unknown after almost 100 years. So we can conclude that blueberries are useful against cystitis but we don’t have quite the scientific proof yet. The fact is, however, that these fruits are able to relieve pain and can help overcome such diseases.