A urinary tract infection occurs when harmful germs enter the urethra. The germs travel up the urethra and into the bladder, causing an infection. If left untreated the infection can travel to the kidneys, causing serious damage. UTIs are incredibly common and are not fun. They can cause intense pain and discomfort.
If you go to your doctor suffering from a UTI, they’ll undoubtedly hand you a prescription for antibiotics. The problem with this is that antibiotics are not selective in the bacteria they destroy, which means they kill both the bad and good bacteria. It can take years for your body to recover from antibiotics and rebuild beneficial gut flora. A lack of this good gut flora leads to even more susceptibility to infection, mood disorders and a suppressed immune system. Not to mention the fact that the overprescription of antibiotics is causing bacteria to mutate and create superbugs.
I’m NOT saying to avoid using antibiotics or to not listen to your doctor. But these are some great, affordable remedies that everyone should be away of.
Diet
Obviously diet is the first step to fighting any infection. Diet largely determines the strength of your immune system, so if you’re regularly eating sugar, grains, vegetable oils and junk food – you’re immune system is going to be weak as hell. This will make it much more likely that you develop an infection like a UTI. To eat a well balanced diet that strengthens the immune system, make sure your diet is comprised of:
- pastured beef, chicken and pork
- wild seafood
- tons of veggies
- a small amount of fruit
- bone broth
- grass-fed and raw dairy
- fermented foods like kefir, kombucha, yogurt, sauerkraut, pickles, etc.
This will ensure that you’re getting an adequate amount of vitamins, minerals, probiotics fat, protein and antioxidants – which in turn boosts the immune system.
During a UTI infection, it’s imperative to avoid sugar. Sugar can allow the bacteria (usually E. coli) to proliferate. This doesn’t just include refined sugar, candy, cake and desserts but also foods that convert into sugar – like grains.
D-Mannose
In majority of UTIs, E. Coli is the bacteria that causes them. Believe it or not, E. Coli is naturally present in our systems, the problem is when the E. Coli enters the urethra and travels upward, causing a UTI. D-Mannose is a simple sugar that once ingested, interacts with the E. Coli in the urinary tract by binding to it.
E. Coli cannot simply be washed out of the urinary tract by urinating. The D-Mannose not only binds to the E. Coli but coats them, only then can they be flushed out of the urinary tract by urinating. This is a much healthier and safer option than using antibiotics, which go in and kill all bacteria, even the friendly bacteria. Using D-Mannos is not only effective, but it also prevents the infection from spreading to the kidneys, which can be very serious.
You can find D-Mannose HERE.
Cranberry
Most people have heard of drinking cranberry juice to ward off and improve UTI’s. Unfortunately, most cranberry juice has added sugar and even the ones that don’t are still high in sugar. And almost all cranberry juice is pasteurized, which kills off a lot of the beneficial components of the juice.
Because of this, I prefer cranberry pills. Cranberry pills are concentrated cranberry extract so you’re getting all the benefits of drinking cranberry juice, without all of the sugar and actually having to chug that much cranberry juice (which is very tart).
I am partial to the Pura Organics brand as it is organic and one of the only brands I’ve found that does not contain soybean oil.
Garlic
Garlic is often referred to as “Russian Penicillin” and for good reason. Those tasty little suckers have some serious antimicrobial benefits. This is because the active ingredient in garlic, allicin, is a potent anti-bacterial agent. From The Department of Biological Chemistry at Weizmann Institute of Science,
Allicin in its pure form was found to exhibit i) antibacterial activity against a wide range of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, including multidrug-resistant enterotoxicogenic strains of Escherichia coli; ii) antifungal activity, particularly against Candida albicans; iii) antiparasitic activity, including some major human intestinal protozoan parasites such as Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia; and iv) antiviral activity.
I recommend eating cloves are garlic, they can be cut into pill sized pieces and swallowed. I personally take a raw garlic supplement everyday that doesn’t taste like garlic, it can be found HERE.
Probiotics
Probiotics are great for the immune system, which is necessary when it comes to fighting a urinary tract infection. 
These probiotics go a step further, they contain two strains of bacteria that specifically combat UTIs, yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis – Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14.
Using these five natural remedies is an easy and effective way to knock out a UTI. Using them all together will make them much more effective and will fight off the infection much faster.
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/urinary-tract-infections-in-teens-and-adults-topic-overview
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23484421
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10594976
http://www.tahomaclinicblog.com/d-mannose-for-bladder-and-kidney-infections/
http://www.webmd.com/women/news/20100823/cranberry-juice-fights-urinary-tract-infection-quickly
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/urinary-tract-infection-in-women
