Preventing UTIs naturally
Q I’m a 47-year-old woman and have had three UTIs in the past couple of years. I don’t get on with antibiotics, so I’d love to find a natural way to prevent them. I’m familiar with the usual lifestyle advice like drinking plenty of water, going to the loo when you need to, etc. Can you recommend any effective supplements or other natural remedies?
C.T., via email
A Around half of all women will experience a urinary tract infection (UTI) in their lifetime, with symptoms such as a persistent urge to urinate and burning pain when urinating. Some 20 to 30 percent of these women will have a second UTI within six months,1 and as many as 6 percent will suffer three or more infections during a given year.2 These nasty infections are usually caused by bacteria entering the urinary tract via the urethra (the tube that allows urine to pass outside the body) and multiplying in the bladder. Women are especially susceptible because of their anatomy—the close proximity of the urethra to the anus and the short distance from the urethral opening to the bladder. The conventional answer for both prevention and treatment is antibiotics, but these can come with serious side-effects, from breathing problems and liver injury (linked to nitrofurantoin) to permanent nerve damage and detachment of the retina (with fluoroquinolones).3 There’s also the growing problem of antibiotic resistance and the havoc wreaked by the drugs on the body’s microbiome, which plays a vital role in overall health.4 But there are a number of good alternatives to antibiotics you can try to help stop you getting another UTI. Here’s our handy guide.
DOSE UP ON D
Recent research suggests that low levels of vitamin D are linked to UTIs.5 It makes sense because vitamin D plays a key role in immune regulation and preventing infections. Work with a practitioner who can get your D levels tested and advise on the right dose for supplementation, or try a home testing kit—available via the Vitamin D Society (www.vitamindsociety.org) and Better You (www.betteryou.com), along with personalized recommendations on how much to take.
TRY D-MANNOSE
This simple sugar found in fruits seems to work in a similar way to cranberry products—by preventing bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract.8 A recent review found it to be protective against recurrent UTIs, with “possibly similar effectiveness as antibiotics.”9 D-mannose supplements are widely available online, often formulated in combination with cranberry extract.
Suggested dosage: follow the label instructions
DRINK CRANBERRY JUICE
Cranberry juice is a popular remedy for recurrent UTIs—and there’s some solid science behind it. While there’s not much evidence that it can get rid of a UTI once you’ve got one, drinking cranberry juice or taking cranberry tablets or powder appears to be an effective preventative. In one pooled analysis of seven trials, taking some form of cranberry reduced the It appears to work by stopping the bacteria that cause UTIs from sticking to the walls of the urinary tract, so it’s more likely to be flushed from the body.
