Those frequent visits to the washroom, pain in the pelvic area, and, of course, the pain and patience of drinking water like a camel, only to let that out the next moment, will be well-understood with people suffering from Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs).
It is undoubtedly a challenging phase, and as experts say, dangerous, too, if left untreated. However, what troubles us the most during this time is what to eat and what not? Some will advise us to stay away from oily foods, while others will ask us to give up on our chais and coffees. But it is not until it comes from an expert’s mouth that we tend to believe or obey it.
Dr. Amit K. Devra, Director Kidney Transplant Programme, Department of Urology & Kidney Transplant, Jaypee Hospital (Noida), comes to your rescue and lists foods that one should avoid when down with UTIs.
- Don’t take coffee, alcohol or caffeine until the infection is gone as they can irritate the bladder.
- Avoid sugar or sugary food as high blood sugars increase the risk of UTI, which is why it is common in poorly controlled Diabetes.
- Don’t eat spicy food since it can potentially irritate the bladder.
- Avoid eating acidic fruit, such as oranges, lemons or limes during the infection. However, once the infection is gone, Vitamin C rich foods can help prevent future infections. Add grapefruit and strawberries to the diet, along with spinach and green peppers.
If you are wondering if this is all that we have to avoid, then what should we be eating instead. Devra has an answer for that too.
In order to recover from a UTI at the earliest, one may consider including these items:
- Drink a lot of water as it will help to flush out the bacteria.
- Eat berries since it helps in keeping bacteria from sticking to the lining of the urinary tract.
- Consume probiotics since they have “good” bacteria that may help to keep the bad bacteria at bay.
- Cranberry juice is rich in phytochemicals which help in reducing the ability of E.coli bacteria to get into the urinary tract walls and washes them away.