Antibiotic resistance sounds like a vague, technical term kept within the confines of doctors’ offices and hospitals, but the truth is, we should all sit down and familiarize ourselves with that phrase, because arming ourselves with knowledge could help protect us and our families in the near future. And, there’s no better time to do so than during Get Smart About Antibiotics Week, which kicks off November 14, 2016.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "antibiotic resistance – when bacteria stop responding to the drugs designed to kill them – is possibly the single most important infectious disease threat we face today.” In fact, more than 2 million Americans contract antibiotic resistant infections each year – and at least 23,000 people actually die as a result. And, as the number of antibiotic prescriptions go up, so does (the chance of) resistance. So, as part of Get Smart About Antibiotics Week, the CDC is challenging Americans – every one of us – to preserve the effectiveness of the medicines we need tomorrow by only taking antibiotics when necessary today.

One of the ways to use antibiotics more efficiently is to reduce the frequency with which they are needed. So why not start by tackling one of the most common types of infection treated with antibiotics – UTIs? According to the American Urological Association, it is estimated that 150 million UTIs occur yearly worldwide and the World Health Organization states that there is a 50 percent resistance rate to one of the most widely used antibiotics to treat UTIs. The good news is that results from a landmark study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition show cranberries can be a nutritional approach to reducing symptomatic UTIs, and thereby the antibiotics used to treat them. How so? The study demonstrated that drinking an 8-ounce (240 ml) glass of cranberry juice a day can reduce the number of symptomatic UTIs in women with recurrent UTIs by nearly 40 percent.

Enjoy a glass of cranberry juice with your breakfast; add a pop of flavor to your lunch, or unwind at the end of the day with a refreshing glass after dinner. Whatever your preference, drinking a glass a day may prove to be a nutritional alternative to daily low-dose antibiotics used to reduce symptomatic UTIs. And, it’s little changes to our routines like this one that can help us prevent infections, be smarter about our antibiotic use and preserve the power of the medicines that we need to treat deadly infections.

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