Case study series - Suffer frequent UTIs?

How you can help yourself naturally!

Not only are they very uncomfortable with symptoms such as painful urination, abdominal discomfort and incontinence, if left for long periods of time UTIs can have serious consequences. Conditions such as pyelonephritis, something I have been hospitalised with and know only too well how painful it is, and sepsis (when infection reaches the blood stream) are serious risks.

UTI’s also have a propensity to become recurrent resulting in long term physical and emotional distress and disruption to life.

Antibiotics, although very necessary if the infection is severe, tend to get handed out only too frequently and will only exacerbate the problem in the long term.

Supporting the prevention and management of UTIs through diet and lifestyle.

My top 5 tips.

1) To restore health and balance within the urinary tract it is worth considering digestive health and presence of opportunistic microbes such as E.coli.

Digestive health is very much related to the health of your urinary tract which can act as a reservoir for infections. Improving the health of your gut as well as testing for opportunist bugs can help determine underlying issues and reduce frequency and susceptibility.

2) There is a lot of research on the benefit of probiotics for reducing risk and frequency of UTIs with specific strains ( L plantarum, L. acidophilus, L. salivarius, L. casei , L. helveticus W74, L. pentosus, and L. brevis) shown to inhibit the growth of various UTI causing pathogens.

Alongside taking a probiotic, dietary changes will help your healthy beneficial bacteria thrive.

3) Try natural substances such as cranberry, D-mannose and hibiscus which help prevent adhesion of pathogens to the lining of the urinary tract.

4) Address underlying drivers of poor resilience increasing your susceptibility to urinary tract infections. For example, blood glucose dysregulation, dehydration and low immunity will impact susceptibility.

5) Eat a varied diet and check your nutrient status. - Insufficient nutrient status including Vitamin A, Vitamin D, zinc, vitamin C, which are all important here, impact your resilience and likelihood to suffering reoccurrences.

For example, Vitamin A is important for mucous membranes that protect the lining of the urinary tract, it’s first line of defence, and Vitamin D directly stimulates localised immune responses protecting against infection.

I hope this helps and if you need any help whatsoever, please do get in touch.

Julie x

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