Prevention Of Chronic Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Pretty Easy

For most people, Cranberry juice really does prevent urinary tract infection (UTI). UTI is infection of any part of the urinary tract, which consists of the bladder, kidneys, prostate, and the lines connecting these organs.

Cranberry

It’s difficult to find juice containing only juice from cranberries. Cranberry cocktail contains cranberry juice and a number of other juices, often apple and pear juice, and usually works well. Be sure to avoid cranberry juice and cocktail containing high fructose corn syrup and other kinds of sugar. Northland makes a pretty good cranberry cocktail. Cranberry pills are sold in health food stores and may be more cost effective than cranberry juice (and cocktail). Drink cranberry juice or cocktail or use cranberry tablets, but NOT if you have a personal or family history of kidney stones.

UTI is anaerobic bacteria in the urinary tract. Most anaerobic bacteria are harmful to people and animals. Anaerobic bacteria thrive in low pH environments. One reason why UTI becomes chronic is chronic very low pH of the urinary tract. How does urinary tract pH get so low? Soda, medication, excess protein, excess alcohol, and excess junk food all push pH down.

What About Antibiotics For UTI?

Cranberry prevents infection, but if the infection came before the drinking of cranberry juice, cranberry probably won’t be able to stop the infection because cranberry isn’t able to kill bacteria of UTI. Cranberry prevents infection because it contains a pigment that makes the urinary tract too slippery for bacteria to attach to any part of the urinary tract, but if the bacteria is already attached to the tissue of the urinary tract, slipperiness won’t stop the infection.

Like any other bacterial infection, UTI is life threatening if not cured. But “cured” means removed or stopped but not removed or stopped forever. Without cranberry, often UTI comes back and usually some how has changed to adapt and survive the antibiotic it was killed of with, requiring a different and more powerful antibiotic the next time there’s a bacterial infection. Eventually with repeated infections and cures, the bacteria can survive any antibiotic – the reason why it’s so necessary to prevent UTI with cranberry juice (or some other means).

A couple glasses of cranberry juice every day won’t remove bacteria from the urinary tract, but once the bacteria is removed (by an antibiotic or some other means) a couple of glasses of cranberry juice every day will prevent bacteria from coming back.

UTI Affects

UTI affects over 7 million men and women per year and costs the health care industry over 1 billion dollars annually. The incidence of UTI increases markedly in institutionalized elderly people and leads to excessive antibiotic usage, emergency room visits, hospitalization, sepsis, and death. The use of antibiotics to prevent UTI in elderly nursing home patients is not recommended and is fraught with problems such as adverse reactions, drug interactions, and the development of drug-resistant organisms.