A urinary tract infection is caused by bacteria.
This is not viral.
This is not yeast, fungus, or mold.
Diabetes can have short-term and long-term effects on the urinary system.
High blood sugar levels can promote bacterial growth and increases the risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs).
So how do I protect myself against urinary tract infections?
Cranberry juice!
Preferably buy the non-sugar kind.
Take ½ glass of water with ½ glass of cranberry juice. Mix it together and drink daily.
How does this prevent urinary tract infections? What does this do?
Cranberry juice does two things:
1 – it changes your urine to an acid so bacteria can’t live in your bladder (the bag that holds your urine).
2 – Cranberry juice contains D-mannose. This simply stops the bacteria from attaching to your bladder lining which, if it does, will cause you to have an infection.
But I hate cranberry juice!
OK, then try apples, oranges, peaches, broccoli, or green beans.
Watch your intake of sugar with all fruits and be sure to have fiber (which keeps the sugar from being absorbed into your blood).
But I thought fiber is a carb. I don’t want carbs!
No, no. Fiber is a GOOD carb!
Fiber cannot be absorbed by your body, so it doesn’t get into the blood.
So even though it’s a carb it does not make your sugars spike.
Fiber helps push waste through your colon. It encourages normal bowel movements.
Most Americans get only half the fiber they need but you can’t just go crazy with fiber or you will find yourself bloated and very uncomfortable.
You have to ramp up your fiber over days or weeks.
Do some diabetes medications make me have urinary tract infections?
This one could: SGLT2 inhibitors –
Examples of these drugs are:
- Invokana and Invokamet (canagliflozin)
- Farxiga (dapagliflozin)
- Jardiance (empagliflozin)
SGLT2 inhibitors are a class of prescription medicines that are FDA-approved for use with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes.
They work by preventing the kidneys from reabsorbing sugar back into the blood.
So the sugar leaves your body through your urine.
Bacteria LOVE!! sugar.
And more sugar in your urine means you are more likely to have a urinary tract infection.
But these drugs also have several side effects besides causing SERIOUS urinary tract infections.
Most recently, FDA now asks all pharmacists to warn their patients about a serious genital area infection, leg and foot amputations, or getting too much acid in the blood.
Other infections that cause your sugars to spike
Yep! Flu and COVID!
Click here to get this FREE eBook on the devastating effects of flu and COVID on diabetes, Quick & Easy Flu/COVID Recovery.
Remember, the longer you are ill, the longer your sugar stays high.
The longer your sugar stays high, the more damage to your wonderful body.
Your organs and tissues can’t work very well.
It’s like “road construction for the next 20 miles”! Ugh.
Everything slows, bad drivers get worse, and it’s a mess.