Urinary tract infection is an upsurge of bacteria or any other pathogen along the urinary tract. The urinary tract begins at the kidneys down to the urethra, the final passageway for urine.
Infections can also occur in the ureters (the tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder) and the bladder itself (though bladder infections are considered unique or different from urinary tract infections).
Sometimes the risk of developing UTI can be as high as 50%, while men only have a 10% lifetime chance of developing the disease. UTI is easily identifiable even by ordinary people because the symptoms are centered mainly in the urological organs. Among the most common symptoms are:
- Having a burning feeling when you are urinating
- A very intense/urgent feeling that you have to urinate.
- Frequent urination, but almost nothing comes out.
- Strange-smelling urine that is often bloody, dark, or cloudy
- You feel shaky and tired for no good reason
- Some people with UTI also experience chills and are feverish. When this happens, what usually takes place is the infection has already migrated upward to the kidneys, and that is the best time to get medical help because if things get any worse, the patience can already be in danger. This doesn’t happen overnight, but if you see or experience any UTI symptoms, get medical intervention quickly.
- And finally, people with UTI also experience some flank pain and abdominal pain. If it’s abdominal pain, it’s usually in the lower abdomen.
There is no evidence that fruit juices can trigger UTI in males and females.
There are different kinds of UTI, based on what region of the urinary tract is affected. Urethritis happens when you see a discharge going out of the tip of the urethra.
All these infections can happen to both men and women. Pyelonephritis is an infection of the kidneys. This type of UTI can cause a lot of lower back pain, vomiting, chills, and even nausea.
People who contract pyelonephritis are also often tired, and they can’t function normally as a result. And finally, there’s the bladder. Bladder infections are often scary because sometimes, blood comes out along with the urine. Bladder infections often feel a strange, painful sensation in their lower abdomen because this is where the bladder is located.
Does Orange Juice Prevent UTI?
From a medical perspective, it’s safe to say that drinking lots of fresh fruit juices can help prevent UTI onset. It is noted that UTIs are so common that annually, eight million doctor visits are attributed to UTIs alone.
It is also estimated that 30% of women have UTI at some point, so it’s a female disease because of the low incidence of UTI in males at any age. If you have a manual juicer at home, doctors recommend that you make and drink more fresh juices because juices naturally boost the immune system.
They can also help lower the body’s acidity by keeping the toxins out and reducing inflammation. When your body is not too acidic, you will have no problems with bacteria because bacteria love acidic tissue.
The fresh juice of citrus fruits is fine for preventing UTI if you plan to maintain a healthy diet to improve your health. Some people may also be interested in avoiding any future reoccurrences of UTI, so they are modifying their diet. We recommend combining your usual commercial juices at home with something else – freshly-squeezed juices. The juice type also has an impact on the results.
Cranberry juice has the best track record for improving urinary health. It performs best compared to other cocktail juices. Either way, you will get good results if you drink more juices than other beverages, except water. Doctors reminded drinking a lot of water every day not just for hydration but also for improving the rate at which your body flushes out bacteria from the urinary tract.
Can Oranges Juice Irritate the Bladder?
As a person ages, he becomes more sensitive to certain foods and beverages, and this warning applies to standard drinks and drinks, too. Believe it or not, many of the famous and well-loved beverages that you may have been drinking all your life may be triggers for bladder irritation all this time. Yes, among the many known triggers of bladder irritation is orange juice and other citrus fruits and citrus juices.
What Can I Drink for Urinary Tract Infection?
It appears that cranberry juice is the undisputed king of preventing and helping treat urinary tract infections. To be clear, if you have already been diagnosed with UTI, it is not safe nor possible to treat the actual condition by just drinking juice and supplements.
Many factors prevent you from achieving full recovery from just drinking juice.
The first one is that juices are not antibiotics. They may have antibiotic properties, but that is usually not enough when there is already a raging infection somewhere in your urinary tract.
So to be specific, you don’t drink cranberry juice or take cranberry supplements to treat an active infection.
You take cranberry juice or similar supplements to prevent those infections from happening in the future. You are increasing the defensive capability of the body so that bacteria will find it very challenging to invade your urethra or kidneys.
We recommend consuming 100% natural cranberry juice that is not filtered for the best results so that you can get all the best nutrients minus the extra sugar. This is important because added sugar is linked to a higher incidence of UTI. It’s always the fruit that is the best source of the protective compounds. Commercial cranberry juice is alright, but then again, the sugar may negate any benefits that come with consuming the liquid in the first place.
