Sugarcane Juice Can Help Prevent UTI's (But There's A Catch)

Having a UTI can cause you pain and discomfort for up to a week. Worse, some UTIs resist treatment due to antibiotic resistance, prolonging your misery. Thus, experimenting with ways to prevent UTIs — including incorporating foods that are said to protect against UTIs — makes sense. 

One particular beverage with such potential is sugarcane juice. You may have seen it in the drink aisles of your grocery store, as it's frequently sold as a canned or bottled beverage. Sugarcane juice comes from processing sugarcane, a grass. Though it may sound strange to think that a sugar-based liquid could have health benefits, research supports this idea.

For instance, sugarcane juice has long been used as a diuretic, and is considered a natural way to help you poop fast. Since an important way to avoid UTIs is to stay hydrated, its diuretic quality may be an asset. A 2018 study in JAMA Internal Medicine found that postmenopausal women who consumed at least 1.5 liters of liquid daily for a year lowered their frequency of bladder inflammation.

Another reason behind the potential of sugarcane juice to prevent UTIs: Sugarcane juice contains polyphenols, which are compounds that act as antioxidants. That means they reduce the effects of oxidative stress. A 2018 study in Industrial Crops and Products showed that sugarcane (the main product in sugarcane juice) is rich in anthocyanins, which are other kinds of antioxidants.

Could drinking products like sugarcane juice that contain a lot of polyphenols and anthocyanins really ward off the bladder infections that cause UTIs? Experiments on cranberries –  a food also containing both compounds — suggest that it could be a reliable practice. A 2025 review in Frontiers in Nutrition found that the antioxidants in cranberries appeared to make the management of UTIs easier. However, the review did note that exact doses had yet to be established. Therefore, you may not be able to determine precisely how much of any antioxidant-dense food to eat (including sugarcane juice) to prevent UTI.

There's another caveat you need to think about when deciding whether to drink sugarcane juice as one of your UTI prevention strategies: Every serving comes with a significant amount of sugar. Just 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) of sugarcane juice contains 20.17 grams of sugar. And that's a sizable percentage of the recommended 25 grams (women) to 36 grams (men) of sugar intake each day, per the American Heart Association.

Consequently, you may want to limit your sugarcane juice consumption to an occasional treat if you're unsure about increasing your sugar intake. After all, it makes no sense to solve one problem (the development of a nasty UTI) only to exacerbate another (potentially serious signs and side effects associated with high blood sugar levels).

(Read about some of the nagging symptoms of UTI you shouldn't ignore.)