Your diet can affect your body in so many different ways from weight to hair growth to bladder health. So, it’s no surprise that UTIs can be affected by the foods you eat.
UTIs, or urinary tract infections, are actually fairly easy to control and/or avoid with a balanced diet. In fact, your diet is often the first place you should look to improve when trying to increase your overall health. Not only food, but also the beverages you drink have a heavy influence on bladder health and UTI contractions.
According to most research, the pH of urine is a large factor in how hospitable the urinary tract will be to the bacteria that causes a UTI. Because our diet directly affects the ph of our urine, we can manipulate this balance to be beneficial for UTI fighting compounds already present in the body.
A healthy pH is often a high one that allows the “bad bacteria blocking” compound siderocalin to do its job effectively. Polyphenols, a type of antioxidant, also help this “blocking” process starting all the way back in the digestive system.
Foods and drinks high in antioxidants and with a slight acidic taste can help keep everything in check. These foods include cranberries, blueberries, oranges, dark chocolate, unsweetened probiotic yogurt, tomatoes, broccoli and spinach. Smart drink choices are decaf coffee; cranberry, blueberry, or pomegranate juices; and black and green tea. Of course, plenty of water is also essential when fighting off a UTI.
While a healthy diet of antioxidant-rich foods is important and can help relieve a UTI, if your symptoms last longer than a week or two you should contact your urologist right away. UTI’s left untreated can spread into the kidneys or become chronic and much more difficult to treat. To set up an appointment for diet consultation or treatment, call us at 1-800-255-1762 or chat with us online using our new direct chat feature available on our website.
