Natural Alternatives to Antibiotics for UTIs

Frustrated by the lack of success with antibiotics, women and men with recurring UTIs started to look for solutions on their own.

What they encountered was a confusing variety of supplements and herbs lining the shelves of drugstores, health food stores and the Amazon website, all claiming to help with UTIs.

Some products for pain, others for “cleansing” and still others for “urinary health”.  Supplements such as cranberry, Hibiscus, Uva Ursi, D-Mannose, Aloe, Green Tea, Bearberry Leaf, Marshmallow Root and Goldenrod.  Sold by an endless number of unknown brands offering different formulas and strengths.

Fact – You Need To Find a Brand You Can Trust

The reality is that unless a doctor, pharmacist or friend has recommended a product or company to you, you may need to do a little homework.

If you’re a “do it yourselfer”, you may want to do all of the reading about how these products work and look into the companies that make them.

But if you need to make a quick decision and know that you are buying products that will work and are safe, here are four things to look for when considering UTI supplements :

  1. Choose a company that specializes in UTIs and sells a wide variety of products to help with every stage of a UTI;
  2. Look for a company that has medical professionals, such as pharmacists, on staff to answer your questions;
  3. Ask if their products are manufactured in the US at FDA-certified facilities, and tested by reputable third-party labs for safety and quality; and
  4. Look for reviews that show the company is committed to helping you until you get rid of your UTI, once and for all.

Fact – Only A Few Natural Supplements Have Been Proven To Work For UTIs

The “antibiotics resistance crisis” has caused US medical scientists to aggressively test and evaluate natural alternatives for urinary tract infections. So now there are many more articles supporting non-prescription solutions in the NIH (National Institute of Health) database.  Read more here.

To date, there are only three natural supplements which have been clinically documented as safe and effective for UTIs: D-Mannose, Apple Cider Vinegar and Cranberry Extract.  Other herbs and botanicals do not yet have sufficient evidence to support their use.

Each of these three all-natural supplements plays a different role in the UTI cycle.

D-Mannose Clears Up An Active UTI

D-Mannose is the first and only natural supplement which has been proven to quickly relieve the symptoms of an “active” UTI.

Extracted from fruits, this rare sugar’s molecules have unique properties which attract and bind to the infection-causing bacteria in the bladder, causing them to be washed out with the urine flow.

Naturopathic doctors have been recommending this natural supplement to their patients for years.  Patient success cases were first documented by Jonathan Wright, MD at the Tacoma Clinic back in the 1980’s.  When it was apparent that “antibiotics resistance” was growing quickly, scientists and medical professionals began an all-out search for effective substitutes.  Countless studies on D-mannose have been conducted abroad, verifying the fact that it is as effective as antibiotics, with significantly fewer toxic side-effects.

Click here to scan or read all of the recent medical research available on D-Mannose.  This information has prompted medical doctors to recommend D-Mannose to their chronic UTI patients.

What To Look For When Buying D-Mannose

Not all D-Mannose products will be equally effective in clearing up a UTI.  Here’s what to look for:

  • Powder, not capsules.  Capsules lose effectiveness in the digestive tract.  The powder mixed in water goes directly to the bladder and is flushed out of your system within 30 minutes; fast symptom relief and no side effects.
  • 100% Pure, no additives. No “extras” such as cranberry or cranberry coloring, hibiscus or anything else; they dilute the effectiveness of this supplement.
  • Completely dissolves, no taste.  A top-quality D-Mannose completely dissolves in water so you cannot see it or taste it.

Apple Cider Vinegar Formula Eliminates Biofilms

If symptoms of a UTI are still present after taking D-Mannose for 30 days, you may have an embedded UTI.  This means that the infectious bacteria have burrowed into the bladder lining and covered themselves with a slimy sac known as a biofilm.  There they continue to grow and send out emissaries which cause new infections.

Apple cider vinegar has been proven to dissolve biofilms, which then exposes these hidden microbes and they float down into the bladder, to be flushed out by an accompanying dose of D-mannose.

A study published by the NIH in 2015 entitled “Antibiofilm Properties of Acetic Acid” concludes: “We have discovered that not only does acetic acid kill planktonic bacteria but it also eradicates bacteria growing in biofilms.”

What To Look for When Buying Apple Cider Formulations

The apple cider vinegar that you buy in the supermarket will not work.  Scientists have developed the right balance of the cider and other natural products to specifically dissolve biofilms; here’s  what to look for:

  • Apple cider vinegar
  • D-Mannose
  • Cranberry
  • A combination of 25 botanicals and 4 vitamins

Cranberry PACs Protect Against New Infections

Scientists have finally figured out exactly how cranberry works and how much of it is needed to help with UTIs.

Cranberry will not clear up an active UTI, but once the infection is gone, it will protect the bladder against new infections.

The key ingredient that makes cranberry work is called PACs (proanthocyanidins).  These phenols coat the bladder so that any new bacteria cannot stick to it, and simply float out with our urine.

Cranberry juice does not contain enough PACs to be effective. Only cranberry extract in capsule form which delivers 36 mg of PAC daily is guaranteed to work.

What To Look for When Buying Cranberry

There are hundreds of cranberry products on the market, but not all of them will actively prevent UTIs.  Here’s what to look for:

  • Delivers 36 mg PAC in each capsule
  • 100% pure cranberry extract, no additives
  • Derived from pure cranberry juice concentrate, not skins or stem