Lakeville-Middleboro, Mass., (November 14, 2016) Cranberries are already an important part of your holidays, but research suggests they can be part of your everyday healthy diet. This is because of their unique ability to block bacteria that can cause UTIs and reduce the antibiotics used to treat them. So whether you scoop it, slice it, or sip it get smart about the healthy holiday fruit that can serve double duty for you and your guests.

Each year, more than 2 million people in the United States get infections from germs that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die as a result. Which is why, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), antibiotic resistance is a serious global threat.

While antibiotic resistance sounds like a vague, technical term, arming ourselves with knowledge could be the strongest form of protection there is.

According to the CDC, up to 30 percent of antibiotics prescribed in outpatient settings are unnecessary, which means people must be vigilant about understanding when they need antibiotics and when they don't. UTIs are the second most common infection treated with antibiotics today, and therefore present an opportunity to help address the issue of antibiotic resistance.

Cranberries, UTIs and Antibiotic Resistance

At a time when antibiotic resistance threatens public health around the world, research shows that consuming cranberry juice daily can be a nutritional approach to reducing symptomatic UTIs, and as a result, may be a useful strategy to decrease the worldwide use of antibiotics.

Cranberry juice is more than a refreshing drink or delicious holiday side; it may also improve the quality of life for women who suffer from UTIs by reducing their trips to the doctor, their lab costs and antibiotic use.

Most people wait to drink cranberry juice until they have a UTI, said Dr. Christina Khoo, Director of Global Health Sciences and Regulatory Affairs at Ocean Spray. But once the symptoms start, they'll likely need a course of antibiotics. That's why incorporating cranberries into your daily routine can be beneficial to maintaining your health.

The key to the cranberry juice benefit? Consuming an 8-ounce glass (240 mL) daily to help avoid a urinary tract infection in the first place.

5 Things to Know about Antibiotics and Your Health

According to an omnibus survey of 1,000 Americans conducted by KRC, nine in 10 adults understand that overusing antibiotics can be harmful to one's health. Getting to know more about antibiotics won't hurt, so the CDC wants you to Get Smart About Antibiotics:

1. Antibiotics do not help fight viruses. Each year, millions of antibiotics are prescribed unnecessarily for viral infections. Taking antibiotics increases the chance of contracting an antibiotic-resistant infection later on.

2. Antibiotics have a shelf life. The CDC advises against taking antibiotics longer than necessary and encourages consumers to check with a practitioner after 48 hours to see whether the dosage needs to be adjusted or continued use is necessary.

3. Antibiotics can react with other drugs: Antibiotics cause one in five emergency department visits for adverse drug events and are the most common cause of emergency department visits for adverse drug events in children under 18 years of age.

4. Antibiotics may not address all your symptoms. In some infections, such as UTIs, symptoms may be caused by other illnesses; if that's the case, antibiotics may not be the answer. Consult your physician to determine the cause of your symptoms and reduce the risk of unnecessarily taking antibiotics.

5. Antibiotics can kill good bacteria in your body. Antibiotics kill the healthy bacteria in the gut, allowing more harmful bacteria to grow in its place. This may lead to complications, such as diarrhea or yeast infections.

To learn more about antibiotic resistance, visit http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/. To learn how you can #DrinkToDefend your body against urinary tract infections, visit www.cranberryhealth.com.

For sources, please visit http://www.cranberryhealth.com/sources.

About Cranberry Health Benefits

For more than 85 years, Ocean Spray has been actively researching the cranberry's unique healthy benefits to deliver products that not only taste good, but are good for you. Cranberries are an exceptional fruit that provide one-of-a-kind health benefits. Besides helping consumers meet the recommended daily intake of fruit, consuming cranberries may be a nutritional approach in helping to reduce certain infections in the urinary tract and stomach. This is increasingly important as the bacteria that cause these infections are becoming highly resistant to the strongest antibiotics used to treat them, fueling what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization believe is one of the greatest challenges to public health today antibiotic resistance. For more information about cranberries and your health, visit www.cranberryhealth.com.

About Ocean Spray

Ocean Spray is a vibrant agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry and grapefruit growers in the United States, Canada and Chile who have helped preserve the family farming way of life for generations. Formed in 1930, Ocean Spray is now the world's leading producer of cranberry juices, juice drinks and dried cranberries and is the best-selling brand in the North American bottled juice category. The cooperative's cranberries are currently featured in more than a thousand great-tasting, good-for-you products in over 100 countries worldwide. With more than 2,000 employees and nearly 20 cranberry receiving and processing facilities, Ocean Spray is committed to managing our business in a way that respects our communities, employees and the environment. For more information visit:www.oceanspray.comorwww.oceanspray.coop.