Natural Treatments to Help Urinary Tract Infections (UTI)
Urinary tract infections (cystitis), or UTIs, are a very common urinary system ailment that affects most women at some point or another. Along with being painful and annoying, a UTI can cause insomnia and limit your daily activities, which might have you wondering if there are any natural treatments for them.
While it’s generally true that you should never act without consulting a doctor, you might also feel like antibiotics are always your only option. But apart from damaging your liver, your body can also build up a resistance to them, which means they’ll be less effective.
So, the main step is to work on UTI prevention, and then to learn some natural treatments you can use to fight one if you get one. Don’t let this pesky problem interfere with your daily life!
What are the main causes of urinary tract infections?
After your kidneys have finished filtering and cleaning the blood, they deposit toxins in your bladder so that they’ll leave your body in your urine. This is why it’s so vital to keep all the parts between the kidney and urethra healthy, obstacle-free, and acidic so that bacteria can’t grow.
But things like age, pregnancy, menopause, certain contraceptives, prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate), diabetes, physical changes in the urinary tract, etc., can allow bacteria to grow or obstruct the urinary pathways. These lead to an inflammation in the urinary tract called cystitis or, in other words, a UTI.
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Symptoms
- Itching or burning while urinating.
- Pressure in the pelvic area.
- The constant need to pee.
- Stinky and/or cloudy pee, or blood in the urine.
- Fever.
Natural treatments for a urinary tract infection (UTI)
The best at-home treatments for a UTI involve a course of natural antibiotics that help regulate the bacteria in your urine.
- Cranberries: these rich red berries are great for fighting urinary infections thanks to their antioxidants (anthocyanin and carotenoids.) Their antiseptic functions make them powerful against germs, keeping bacteria from adhering to the walls of the urinary tract. Their their high Vitamin C content boosts the immune system’s defenses against the infection itself.
- Parsley and garlic: these foods are excellent as far as antibiotic properties go. You can add them to your food, or have them on their own. Parsley is best when mixed with fruit juice, especially acidic fruits. You can soak garlic and soften it in olive oil before you eat it raw (just make sure to brush your teeth well afterwards!).
- Lactobacillus bacteria are equally beneficial. These you can find at any supermarket in fermented dairy products like yogurt. They help to improve the bacterial balance in your gut and develop antibodies.
- Diuretics help you get foreign substances out of your urinary pathways and prevent fluid retention. So, it’s important to include foods like asparagus, cucumber, celery, and alfalfa in your diet… Pineapple is also great thanks to its anti-inflammatory enzymes.
Recommendations for avoiding UTIs
- Increase your liquid consumption to wash out those pesky bacteria.
- Take vitamin C and consume as much orange, lemon, pineapple, and blueberry juice as possible.
- Always take good care of your intimate parts!
- Avoid coffee, alcoholic beverages, and green tea, as they can irritate the bladder and increase discomfort.
As you can see, it’s relatively easy to treat UTIs. It just takes a bit of willpower and a balanced diet with a lot of liquids cranberries. Their amazing infection-fighting properties have been well-proven scientifically, so it’s always worth having them on hand, whether fresh or in a pre-made juice.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Jepson RG, Craig JC. A systematic review of the evidence for cranberries and blueberries in UTI prevention. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2007 Jun;51(6):738-45. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.200600275. PMID: 17492798.
- Li G, Ma X, Deng L, Zhao X, Wei Y, Gao Z, Jia J, Xu J, Sun C. Fresh Garlic Extract Enhances the Antimicrobial Activities of Antibiotics on Resistant Strains in Vitro. Jundishapur J Microbiol. 2015 May 31;8(5):e14814. doi: 10.5812/jjm.14814. PMID: 26060559; PMCID: PMC4458355.
- Akgül T, Karakan T. The role of probiotics in women with recurrent urinary tract infections. Turk J Urol. 2018 Sep;44(5):377-383. doi: 10.5152/tud.2018.48742. Epub 2018 Sep 1. PMID: 30487041; PMCID: PMC6134985.
