A Cranberry A Day Keeps Urinary Tract Infection Away
Urinary tract infections are painful experiences, and they account for one of the most common ailments women experience. While many seek antibiotics for bladder infections, there are also natural ways in which you can prevent and treat urinary tract infections at home.
Symptoms
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are also known as bladder infections. Symptoms of a UTI include:
· Feeling as if you need to urinate right away
· Feeling the need to urinate frequently
· Pan and/or burning during urination
· Sometimes blood is present in the urine
Some individuals have re-occurring UTIs, meaning they get the infections often. The natural preventative and healing foods I discuss in this post are good for re-occurring and occasional bladder infections.
Cranberries and Blueberries
It is probably no surprise to you that cranberries are good at eliminating UTIs. However, research has found cranberries (and blueberries) work differently than they had thought.
The old theory behind cranberries being a good antidote to bladder infections was that eating cranberries or drinking cranberry juice makes one’s urine acidic. The acidic urine, scientists believe, would wash out E coli, the bacteria that lead to urinary tract infections.
E coli bacteria naturally exist in our gut. Sometimes these bacteria creep down into the bladder and they attach themselves to the bladder by using their tiny appendages to hold onto it and multiply.
Researchers have discovered both cranberries and blueberries contain special compounds. When one eats cranberries or blueberries or drinks cranberry or blueberry juice, these special compounds destroy the appendages E coli use to attach to the bladder, and the bacteria are washed out with urination.
Prodromas N. Papas Study
In 1966 Prodromas N. Papas conducted a study, which is now well known. The study supports the idea of eating cranberries or drinking cranberry juice for bladder infections. The study found that drinking 16 ounces of cranberry juice everyday for three weeks prevented UTI in 73% of the 60 participants. Further, they discovered when the participants stopped drinking the cranberry juice, approximately 50% of the participants had a re-occurring bladder infection within six weeks. Thus, drinking cranberry juice can prevent UTIs, according to the study’s results.
Fluids
Drinking a lot of fluids is also important in battling urinary tract infections. Because E coli multiply quickly, the more urine stays in the bladder, the worse a person’s infection symptoms will be. Drinking a lot of fluid causes one to urinate more frequently, leading to more and more of the bacteria to be washed out of the bladder.
You may want to try drinking cranberry juice daily in order to prevent bladder infection. Additionally, you may want to try these suggestions to help you rid a urinary tract infection if you get one.
Source:
Food – Your Miracle Medicine: How Food Can Prevent And Cure Over 100 Symptoms And Problems by Jean Carper
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