How a Simple Sugar can Stop a Urinary Tract Infection Dead in its Tracks

Sunday, August 02, 2009 by: Kerri Knox, RN
Tags: urinary tract infection, health news, Natural News

(NewsTarget) Urinary tract infections are not only painful, but with a trip to the doctor's office and a regimen of antibiotics (the usual treatment), it ends up being expensive and inconvenient as well. But it doesn't have to be that way. Taken at the first signs of a urinary tract infection, a specific type of sugar called D-Mannose can stop a urinary tract infection fast- without antibiotics and without side effects.

For those with a urinary tract infection, life stops until the painful problem is taken care of. Usually it requires an unscheduled trip to the doctor or emergency room with a course of antibiotics, as well as an antifungal for the inevitable yeast infection that follows. But antibiotics have undesirable side effects, such as yeast infection in women, and the bacteria from urinary tract infections are becoming more and more resistant. With one study concluding, "Bacterial resistance in UTI in Chinese females is a severe problem, which could be resulted from antimicrobial irrational use." the option of antibiotics for urinary tract infections is becoming less and less of an option.

But this doesn't have to be the case. Most people who have suffered with a 'UTI', as they are called, know that drinking cranberry juice is an effective prevention, but what few know is that the ingredient in cranberries that makes it work so well for urinary tract infections is a sugar called D-mannose.

How can sugar stop a UTI?

D-Mannose IS a sugar- yet it doesn't ACT like sugar. It tastes slightly bitter and it doesn't raise blood sugar levels, but this sugar has a special trait makes it incredibly useful in the treatment of urinary tract infections. The main bacteria that cause urinary tract infections are called Escherichia Coli or simply 'E Coli' for short. E Coli causes urinary tract infections by grabbing onto the wall of the bladder with hook-like projections. Once stuck, it can reproduce and cause an infection. But D-mannose has the unique ability to prevent this adhesion by making the wall too slippery for the E Coli bacteria to stick.

With the bladder constantly having fluids passing through it, this is an incredibly efficient way of preventing and stopping an infection because the bacteria that don't stick are simply washed away out of the body. While there have not been very many studies done on humans taking D-Mannose, the ones that have been done have shown the natural product to be safe and effective for not only Preventing UTI's, but also as a Treatment for them. When used as soon as a UTI is noticed, symptoms are usually gone within 24 hours.

With increasing resistance to bacteria and the harsh effects they have on the body, antibiotics are becoming less and less of an option for urinary tract infections and other non life threatening bacterial infections. Instead, using this simple prevention and treatment for Urinary Tract Infections is easy, inexpensive and doesn't require a doctor's visit or the need for antibiotics.

Resources

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19563060?...

http://www.urinary-tract-infection-center.co...

http://iai.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/24/3...

About the author

Kerri Knox, RN is a Registered Nurse and Functional Medicine Practitioner.
With over 14 years of experience in health care, she has the unique perspective of being solidly grounded in Conventional Medicine and being well versed in Alternative Medicine.
She can help you to to find and repair the UNDERLYING CAUSES of illness using cutting edge in home lab testing that finds nutritional deficiencies, hidden infections and chemical and metal toxicities that contribute to ill health.
She can be reached through her websites at:
Easy Immune System Health.com
Side Effects Site