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D-Mannose Offers Great Protection Against
Urinary Tract Infections

The disease with lots of different names

No matter what you call it—cystitis, bladder infection, urinary tract infection or UTI—the symptoms are a real pain in the bladder. You have the sudden urge to pee, but when you make it to the bathroom you feel more of a burning sensation than relief. And if you don’t nip it in the bud, that burning can progress to a full-blown infection that includes fever, chills, lower abdominal pain and/or blood in the urine.

About one out of two women will have a UTI at least once during her lifetime. But men can also get bladder infections, especially if they have an enlarged prostate.

Urine travels down two thin tubes called ureters to the bladder.

Also, a large percentage of individuals with spinal cord injuries suffer from UTIs, and guess who most of those individuals are? Young men who have had accidents—especially motorcycle—or have sustained injuries as a result of combat. Preventing UTIs … naturally The typical treatment for urinary tract infections is a round of antibiotics. The problem is, antibiotics kill both the good and bad bacteria in your gut, which leads to other health problems. The good new is that D-Mannose can prevent UTIs before they take hold.

What is D-Mannose?

It is a simple sugar structurally related to glucose, that is found in many fruits, including peaches, apples, oranges, cranberries, and blueberries. It is also produced in your body. D-mannose is considered a safe and natural nutritional food supplement. Since it isn't metabolized, it doesn't interfere with blood sugar regulation, and is therefore safe for diabetics.

Here’s the incredible part. According to researchers at the Washington University (WU) School of Medicine in St. Louis, most UTIs start when Escherichia coli (E. coli)—a microorganism that lives in the digestive tract and is found in the anal area—invade the bladder and penetrate a protective coating of the superficial cells that line the bladder. In most cases, urine flow washes out bacteria from the bladder.  But the cell wall of E. coli bacteria has tiny finger-like projections that contain complex molecules called lectins on their surface. These lectins are cellular glue that binds the bacteria to the bladder wall so they cannot be easily rinsed out by urination.1

E. coli cells coated by D-mannose in the urine become unglued and get flushed right out of the body. And the beauty about D-mannose is that you can take it year-round without any side effects. You don’t have to wait until symptoms appear.

How is D-mannose different from cranberry extract?

An estimated 34 percent of adults aged 20 or older (62.7 million) self-reported having had at least one occurrence of a urinary tract infection or cystitis.

How does E. coli invade the bladder in the first place?

Almost everyone is familiar with the horror stories that emerged several years ago when several children died from apple juice that was contaminated with E. coli.  It’s true that you can get a very bad case of food poisoning from E. coli contamination—which is why you see signs in restaurant and grocery restrooms demanding all food workers to wash their hands—but with the exception of a few, rare dangerous forms, E. coli is a healthy part of our normal bowel bacteria.

The problem is, when E-coli gets out of the bowel where it belongs and into the bladder, you can get a UTI. The bacteria first travel to the urethra (the canal through which urine is discharged from the bladder), and this can happen in a number of ways:

• In young girls it may occur when they wipe from back to front, instead of from front to back.
• A woman's urethra is short and its opening is near the anus, which allows E. coli quick access to the bladder.
• In some women sexual intercourse seems to set the stage for an E-coli invasion. Women who use a diaphragm are more likely to develop a UTI than women who use other forms of birth control. Recently, researchers found that women whose partners use a condom with spermicidal foam also tend to have growth of E. coli bacteria in the vagina.
• Catheters placed in the urethra and bladder often allow invasion of E. coli.

But despite these safeguards, urinary tract infections are a serious health problem affecting millions of people each year.

Conclusion

Future research will most likely establish D-mannose as a practical, safe, and effective therapy superior to antibiotics for treating urinary tract infections, and for maintaining urinary tract health.

References

1. Anderson, G. et al. Intracellular Bacterial Biofilm-Like Pods in Urinary Tract Infections. Science Vol 301 4, July 2003.
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2. Bouckaert J, et. al. Receptor binding studies disclose a novel class of high-affinity inhibitors of the Escherichia coli FimH adhesin.Mol Microbiol. 2005 Jan;55(2):441-55.
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3. Ofek I, Goldhar J. Eshdat Y, Sharon N. The importance of mannose specific adhesins (lectins) in infections caused by Escherichia coli. Scand J Infect Dis Suppl 1982;33:61-7.
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4. Michaels EK, Chmiel JS, Plotkin BJ, Schaeffer AJ.Effect of D-mannose and D-glucose on Escherichia coli bacteriuria in rats. Urol Res 1983;11:97–102.
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5. Azfriri D, et al. Inhibitory activity of cranberry juice on adherence of type 1 and type P fimbriated Escherichia coli to eucaryotic cells. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1989;33:92-8.
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6. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. “Urinary Tract Infections in Adults.”
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