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Take Care of Your Urinary Tract
New herbals for Urinary Tract Support & Candida Modulation
By Melissa Lynn Block – Doctor’s Prescription for Healthy Living
Article
 Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the cause of over seven million
doctor and hospital visits per year. After respiratory infections,
they’re the most common type of infection seen in the U.S. Women are
far more likely to experience a UTI, also known as cystitis, than men.
UTIs are common in children—and can potentially be serious in this
demographic.
A UTI can exist without any symptoms, but it can also cause a whole
host of extremely unpleasant sensations: burning and itching in the
urethra, pain with urination, and a bladder that spasms so hard that
it constantly feels overfull. An untreated urinary tract infection can
move up to take hold in the kidneys, causing kidney infection (pyelonephritis)—
which can cause symptoms like fever, fatigue, loss of appetite and
intense pain in the back.
About 90 percent of UTIs can be traced back to a bug called E.coli,
which is abundant in the large intestine and lives in and around the
anus. These bacteria may also inhabit the vaginal tract in small
numbers. The fact that women’s genital, urinary, and anal openings are
so close together helps to explain why women get UTIs so much more
often: it’s not difficult, during sex or when cleaning one’s self
after a bowel movement, to introduce E.coli near the urethral opening.
While men and boys get UTIs only rarely, they are more likely to be
severe in this gender.
While about 40 percent of women and 12 percent of men will have a UTI
at some juncture, some people—particularly women—get them repeatedly.
The reasons for this aren’t well understood, but it is known that
women who are more sexually active are more likely to have recurrent
UTIs. (Doctors sometimes call a UTI due to overdoing it in the boudoir
“honeymoon cystitis.”) Women are advised to urinate after intercourse
to move any bacteria out of the urinary tract. The use of a diaphragm
for contraception is another risk factor for recurrent UTIs, as are
diabetes, weakened immunity, or paralysis of the lower body.
If you’re sensitive to the sensations that herald an oncoming UTI, you
may find yourself able to circumvent a doctor’s visit with quick
action: drink a lot of purified water; rest; take vitamin C; and take
advantage of the preventive power of the cranberry, which you’ll learn
more about a little later in this article.
Once a UTI begins to cause outright, significant symptoms, it’s time
to visit a physician’s office for treatment—which will involve a urine
test, followed (if the test is positive) by a course of antibiotics.
If the UTI is causing painful spasms in the bladder and urethra, the
doctor will probably also prescribe pills that relax these areas and
reduce discomfort. If any symptoms of kidney infection are present,
it’s doubly important to get yourself to a physician for prompt
treatment. An untreated kidney infection can be deadly.
Unfortunately, a course of antibiotics may yield another discomforting
issue in one’s nether regions: a vaginal yeast infection. This causes
itching, burning, redness, and yeasty-smelling discharge in the vagina
and vulva (the external part of the female genitalia). This can be
treated over-the-counter or by a physician, but for some women, the
UTI-yeast infection double whammy turns into a cycle that they can’t
seem to break.
New Chapter
has developed an herbal one-two punch designed to help address these
common issues. Both products contain an ingredient, cranberry, that
has been extensively researched and found effective.
CRANBERRY (VACCINIUM MACROCARPON) THE NATURAL APPROACH
It has long been known that cranberry is an effective natural way to
promote normal urinary tract health. In the past, it was believed that
this effect was due to an acidifying effect of cranberry juice on the
urine, which then made the urinary tract less hospitable to the growth
of bacteria. Now, it’s understood that cranberry contains numerous
plant chemicals— which New Chapter’s Director of Medical Education,
Taryn Forrelli N.D., calls chemistries—that actually disrupt the
adherence of bacteria in the urinary tract.
When bacteria begin to multiply, they produce “glues” that allow them
to form entities known as biofilms. Just as is the case with human
beings, the more, the merrier—and when they band together in this way,
bacteria become stronger adversaries that are harder to get rid of.
The key chemistries identified by scientists at New Chapter interfere
with the adherence to surfaces or the production of biofilms.
No other berry has the same protective effects against UTIs as the
cranberry. According to research by Israeli professor Itzhak Ofek,
this is because cranberry is unique among berries in that it contains
a “heavy” molecule called non-dialyzable material, or NDM. NDM acts as
a sort of molecular “Teflon,” coating bacteria with a slippery
substance that prevents its adhesion to tissues and the formation of
biofilms.
Placebo-controlled studies demonstrate that women who have recurrent
UTIs can benefit from a preventive program that includes cranberry. In
one such study, pregnant women who had asymptomatic UTIs and drank two
to three glasses of cranberry juice a day saw a strong reduction of
UTI frequency compared with women who drank a placebo drink. The
results might have been stronger if many of the women involved hadn’t
withdrawn from the study due to gastrointestinal upset—a common issue
with straight cranberry juice, which is highly acidic and
strong-tasting.
In a review of 10 randomized, controlled studies on cranberry and UTIs,
British researchers found that both cranberry juice and cranberry
tablets decrease the number of UTIs over a 12- month period,
particularly in women who had chronic UTIs.
 To
deliver concentrated cranberry power without gastrointestinal upset,
New Chapter has developed
Urinary Tract Take Care.
This concentrated cranberry extract, crafted from organic berries, has
been made with a new patent-pending DARTvision technology—a method of
“fingerprinting” herbal extracts that guarantees that each soft
capsule has the same full-spectrum potency of herbal chemistries.
Urinary Tract Take Care
also contains organic cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia ). Cinnamon is
naturally bacteriocidal, and has historically been used as a food
preservative. Cranberry and cinnamon contain complementary, bioactive
chemistries that disrupt the adherence of bacteria in the urinary
tract. Urinary Tract Take Care may be a helpful daily addition to your
supplement plan to support and restore healthy urinary tract function.
CANDIDA TAKE CARE - MODULATE CANDIDA GROWTH WITH A SPECIALLY CRAFTED
HERBAL SUPPLEMENT
 While they pose less of an overall health threat than UTIs, yeast
infections are no walk in the park. The unpleasant symptoms, including
itching and discharge, can put a real cramp in a woman’s ability to
keep up with her busy life. Over-the-counter and prescription
treatments for vaginal yeast infection can be greatly helpful, but
medical authorities are finding that yeast strains, like bacterial
strains, can become resistant to the medicines most often used to
eradicate them.
Women who take oral contraceptives, steroid drugs (such as those used
to treat asthma or rheumatoid arthritis) or antibiotics are at
heightened risk of developing a vaginal yeast infection. Tight
undergarments, the use of panty liners, or undergarments that don’t
“breathe” can also lead to yeast overgrowth. This overgrowth of yeast—
which naturally inhabits the vaginal tract and is kept in check by
beneficial bacteria with which it cohabits— is also more likely in
women who have diabetes or immune system disorders. Overdoing it with
sugar or other refined carbohydrates or alcohol may exacerbate yeast
problems.
“Cranberry is well-known for its microbe-balancing effects,” Dr.
Forrelli tells DPHL , “and there have been anecdotal reports of its
use for candida.” Using new DARTvision technology, New Chapter
microbiologists and biochemists identified 12 key chemistries that
naturally bind to candida, blocking its ability to adhere to human
cells in vitro . Several of these chemistries are newly discovered
compounds that have never before been described.
Like bacteria, candida forms biofilms, and these chemistries inhibit
this process in vitro as well. “Biofilms initiate inflammation in the
body, which is one reason behind the discomforting symptoms associated
with candida imbalance,” Dr. Forrelli states. And, finally, in other
in vitro experiments, cranberry phytochemicals have been found to slow
the growth of candida.
For more information, see the Candida Take Care
by New Chapter.
Resources:
For more product information on Urinary Tract Take Care by New
Chapter, click here.
For more product information on Candida Take Care by New Chapter,
click here.
The statements contained in this article have not been evaluated by
the Food and Drug Administration. The information contained here is
not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Suggestions and ideas presented in this document are for information
only and should not be interpreted as medical advice, meant for
diagnosing illness, or for prescriptive purposes. Readers are
encouraged to consult their health care provider before beginning any
cleanse, diet, detoxification program, or any supplement regimen. The
information in this document is not to be used to replace the services
or instructions of a physician or qualified health care practitioner. |
