What Is The Best Probiotic To Take For Uti

Can You Take Prebiotics And Probiotics Together

As probiotics grow in use, prebiotics is beginning to get attention as well. Prebiotics come in supplement form but can also be fiber-rich foods that feed good gut bacteria. Probiotics replenish the good bacteria in the gut while prebiotics maintains the gut microbiome by feeding the good bacteria we have in the gut. Because of this relationship between prebiotics and probiotics, it is perfectly acceptable to take them together. However, if your diet already contains healthy, fiber-rich foods then you will likely not require prebiotic supplements.

Prebiotics contain fibers and natural sugars that encourage the growth of essential gut bacteria. They are easy to digest and keep the gut in balance. Prebiotic foods contain fiber and can include bananas, garlic, and dark leafy greens. Probiotic foods contain live cultures and include miso, some yogurts, kimchi, and sauerkraut.

You can learn more in my other article: Prebiotic vs Probiotic: Whats the Difference and Why Are They Important?

Description Of The Condition

Neuropathic or neurogenic bladder describes a process of dysfunctional voiding as the result of neurological injury . The International Continence Society states that neuropathic bladder can only be diagnosed in the presence of neurological pathology . Neurologic control of bladder function is at multiple levels throughout the central nervous system and subject to multiple pathophysiologic processes . Neurological diseases that affect bladder function can be classified according to the location of the lesion: suprapontine, supra sacral or sacral. Examples of neurological disorders leading to voiding dysfunction include cerebral palsy, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, spinal cord injury , multiple sclerosis, transverse myelitis, poliomyelitis, and radical pelvic surgery . Tumours affecting the central nervous system can also cause voiding dysfunction.

An effective way to prevent UTI in people with neuropathic bladder, especially people with SCI has been sought for many years. In 1998, 73% of patients in an Australian SCI unit were attempting nonantibiotic based UTI prevention . A recent randomised controlled trial of 305 subjects with SCI conclusively demonstrated that the current common methods of nonantibiotic UTI prevention were ineffective . UTI prevention, particularly the more difficult to treat MROUTI, is a clinical imperative for people with SCI and neuropathic bladder.

Prevention Of Utis In Women

A meta-analysis on the application of Lactobacillus was published. A total of 294 patients from 5 published studies were evaluated and as a result vaginally administered Lactobacillus probiotic chain was shown to be safe and effective in preventing recurrent UTIs in adult women . In the analysis, it was stated that the ovules containing combinations of L.crispatus CTV-05 or L. rhamnosus GR-1 and L.fermentum B-54 were the most effective methods and that higher number of randomized clinical trials were needed for the evaluation of oral probiotic treatments.

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Understanding Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary tract infections describe a bacterial infection of your urinary system, including your urethra and bladder. Your bladder is the organ responsible for collecting and storing urine, while the urethra is the tube that transports urine from the bladder out your body.

UTIs are usually categorized in two forms: cystitis and urethritis. Cystitis is an infection of the bladder, while urethritis is an infection of the urethra. If left untreated, the bacteria can potentially spread up from your bladder into your kidneys, leading to a more serious kidney infection.

UTIs can come with a variety of symptoms, most commonly an urgent and frequent need to urinate. This may also be accompanied by:

• Burning, pain, or general discomfort when you pee
• Bloody urine
• Cramps, pressure, and soreness in your back, sides, or lower abdomen 2

While UTIs may go away on their own, they can be easily treated with a course of antibiotics along with over-the-counter medication to manage any pain or discomfort.3

Are There Any Side Effects Of Taking Probiotics

If taken in moderate amounts or as per doctors advice, most of the people do not experience any side effects. However, if you take in large amounts, then you may experience constipation, bloating, increased thirst or diarrhea.

4. Can you Take Probiotics Every Day?

Yes, you can take probiotics daily even on those days when you are not able to take natural probiotics. Actually, taking probiotic supplements with natural probiotics provide more effective results.

5. What is the Appropriate Time to Take Probiotics?

You can take probiotics 30 minutes before or after the meals. Make sure you take the dosage as per doctors prescription.

6. Can I Take Probiotics on Empty Stomach?

It is better not to take probiotics on an empty stomach. We always recommend to take them before or after the large meal of the day.

Read Also: How To Get Probiotics Into Your Gut

How Do I Choose The Best Probiotic Supplement

When selecting a probiotic supplement, choose the one that feels right for you. If you are seeking specific benefits, consider a friendly bacteria supplement with research behind it for this particular purpose. For example, if you are looking for vaginal health support, consider a product that contains well-researched strains including L. paracasei F-19® and the world-renowned L. rhamnosus GR-1® and L. reuteri RC-14® which have shown to help support a healthy vaginal microbiome21.

If youre confused as what well-researched really means, Dr. Kate explains all in this helpful article: Research: is it all equal?.

If youve never taken probiotics before and are wondering if theyd suit you, then be reassured that the potential benefits of probiotics are numerous and any side effects are rare, making these supplements a popular choice for daily maintenance of gut and intimate health.

Healthcare professionals can reassure their clients about this topic by reading Probiotics and side effects an in-depth review on the Probiotic Professionals site.

St Step: Take Care Of Your Hygiene To Prevent Utis

As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Follow these basic hygiene rules to stop bacteria from the colon or vagina from reaching the urethra.

• Urinate when you feel the need to go, and dont resist the urge.
• Wipe from front to back in the bathroom, so you are preventing bacteria from entering your urethra.
• Take showers instead of tub baths, and avoid hot tubs/Jacuzzis.
• If you can, cleanse your genital area before and after having sexual intercourse, and try to urinate as well.
• Avoid using feminine hygiene sprays, which may irritate your urethra.
• Also avoid vaginal douching as this can damage the microbial balance in the vagina. Doing so can lead to an increase in pathogenic bacteria that could be transferred to the urethra. Moreover, it can also increase the chance of vaginal yeast and bacterial infections.

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Jazzee Naturals Uti Probiotic Strains

This is a complete womens probiotic supplement that contains 12 important probiotic strains and provides 25 billion colony forming units per serving. Each capsule is specially formulated for beating yeast and candida infections.

Apart from that, it also promotes healthy digestion, supports brain function, and aids weight loss. The patented time-release formula protects the probiotics from the stomach acids and ensures maximum effectiveness.

This is an all-natural vegetarian probiotic supplement that does not contain any artificial ingredients. It is GMO-free, gluten-free, soy-free, egg-free, and nuts-free.

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• Nothing much.

Helpful After Antibiotic Treatments

Recurring urinary tract infections or R-UTI are fast becoming a major problem because of recurrent use of antibiotics. Both women and men who have had multiple antibiotic treatments due to UTIs find themselves caught in a vicious microbiome challenge.

Antibiotics are indiscriminate in the bacteria they target and are known to wipe out whole colonies of probiotic bacteria, like Lactobacillus acidophilus. These probiotics are important due to various reasons.

The primary one being, they maintain an acidic environment in the genitalia which makes it inhospitable for harmful pathogens to survive.

Probiotic supplements have found to be helpful in restoring microbiome balance after an antibiotic course.

As per a study published in FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology, probiotics for urinary tract health were helpful in restoring healthy microbiome balance in 90% participants, which largely comprised of women with a history of urogenital infections and antibiotic treatment.

Read Also: Do Probiotics Make You Pee More

Probiotics For Urinary Tract Infections

Your body is full of bacteria. In fact, bacteria outnumber your cells 10 to 1.11 Thankfully, many of these bacteria are helpful and necessary to good health. Probiotics are a variety of live bacteria and yeasts that live in your gut and can help to promote digestion. Most probiotic bacteria come from two groups: lactobacillus and bifidobacterium.12

However, these helpful, healthy bacteria also reside naturally within the vagina. Studies have found that during urinary tract infections, these bacteria, known as vaginal Lactobacilli, are gone or significantly reduced. Lactobacilli keep vaginal pH low and acidic, which prevents UTI-causing E. coli from spreading from your digestive tract to your vagina and urethra.

Imbalances in vaginal flora can be caused by a variety of factors, including excessive washing and sudden hormonal changes caused by menopause, pregnancy, or contraceptives.13Antibiotics, like those used to combat UTIs, can also cause a reduction in vaginal flora, and even after stopping antibiotic use, your body may fail to replenish good bacteria, potentially leading to recurrent urinary tract infections.14

Make Sure They’re Safe For You

For most people in good health, experts say probiotics won’t cause any issues. If you do get side effects, they’re usually very mild, like a little more gas than usual.

But use caution if you have a serious health condition or your immune system — your body’s defense against germs — is weak. In those cases, it’s best to check with your doctor first to see if they’re safe.

Also talk to your doctor before giving probiotics to your infant, especially if they’re sick.

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Garden Of Life Dr Formulated Probiotics Once Daily 30 Billion Cfus

Price: $$$

Garden of Life Dr. Formulated Probiotics Once Daily 30 Billion CFUs provides 30 billion CFUs of 14 probiotic strains, including Bifidobacterium lactis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactobacillus casei.

Garden of Life guarantees the CFU count through the end of the products best use date when stored properly. This supplement keeps best in the refrigerator.

This product is dairy-free and makes a good choice for those with lactose intolerance.

While its also made without peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, and soy products, the supplement is manufactured in a facility that handles major allergens, so it may not be a good option if you have a severe food allergy.

Why It Is Important To Do This Review

For people with a neuropathic bladder, the treatment of a simple UTI is becoming more complicated as the prevalence of MROUTI rises. Such infections can be life threatening, or at the very least, expensive to treat with intravenous antibiotics with the possibility of sideeffects and increased demands on resources . These resource demands include use of isolation rooms and specific isolation wards, more stringent use of personal protective equipment and auditing, plus an increased risk of transmission to other patients. Colonising MRO have the potential to adversely affect the individual should their immune system become compromised or if there is crosscontamination of body systems . The most common clinical infection for people with a neuropathic bladder is UTI, for which there are no urinary prophylactic substances with proven efficacy .

UTI are likely to pose more problems in the future as organisms continue to become more resistant to available antibiotics. UTI are increasingly difficult and expensive to treat, and therefore, exploring the use of probiotics to reduce MRO colonisation and resultant UTI is crucial to reducing significant health system demands from current and future prevalence. Nonantibiotic prophylaxis is needed to prevent UTI in people with neuropathic bladder.

Also Check: Mrm Natural Whey Protein 2 Billion Probiotics

Benefits Of Probiotics For Older Adults

In addition to balancing good and bad bacteria, probiotics offer a number of benefits to older adults.

• They help reduce the frequency and duration of diarrhea.
• Some strains can help improve heart health.
• They can help relieve lactose intolerance the inability to digest sugar in dairy products.
• They can help relieve various food and skin allergies.
• They help reduce inflammation in the vagina due to an overgrowth of bacteria.
• They can improve unpleasant odor in exhaled breath.

Probiotics For Overall Health

When purchasing any probiotic for overall health, a person should be aware that there is little research into the health benefits of probiotics and may find it difficult to determine their effectiveness.

While it is common for some people to take probiotic supplements to promote their overall health, and suggested by many healthcare providers for various conditions, it is important to understand that not all probiotics are effective or safe for everyone . It is much more important for an individual to support their overall health by focusing on diet and lifestyle as a whole rather than on taking one specific supplement.

The health benefits of probiotics are strain-specific, and probiotics for overall health often contain a lot of live microorganisms rather than single strains. This makes it difficult for a person to determine whether research supports the health benefits that the manufacturers claim.

Three probiotic options for overall health include:

Best for a raw probiotic

Persona claims that this vegetarian probiotic can support healthy digestion, immune health, and emotional well-being.

Each capsule contains 10 billion CFU of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG.

The company recommends people take the probiotic differently depending on the time of day:

• in the morning, take with or after breakfast
• in the evening, take with a snack or dinner
• at night, take an hour before going to bed

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Replenish The Good Womens Probiotic

Second from our list comes a famous brand called Replenish the Good. This specially formulated womens probiotic is good in treating urinary and yeast infection.

This supplement contains 6 effective probiotic strains and each capsule contains 6 billion CFUs. The probiotic strains include L. rhaamnosus, L. acidophilus, L. fermentum, L. plantarum, L. reuteri and B. lactis.

This supplement also contains vitamin D3, cranberry and D-Mannose. These ingredients help in preventing the pathogenic bacteria from colonizing the walls of the urinary tract. It is also helpful in treating vitamin D deficiency.

This supplement contains specially selected strains that help to prevent and treat urinary tract infections, yeast infections, vaginosis and vaginal dryness. It also helps to improve digestive health, immune health and brain health.

This probiotic supplement is completely safe and suitable for daily long-term use. Patented time release formula of this supplement delivers 15 times more probiotics to the intestine compared to other probiotic supplement brands.

This is a shelf-stable probiotic supplement that does not require refrigeration. It is made from 100% natural ingredients, so it is completely safe and suitable for long term use. This supplement doesnt contain lactose, egg, soy, wheat, nuts, chemicals, shellfish, sugar, artificial colors, preservatives and gluten.

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Urinary Tract Infections And Probiotics

When we refer to the microbiome, we mean the environment of billions of bacteria and microorganisms that live in and on our bodies. Most prevalent areas of the microbiome are the small and large intestines , the reproductive tract and the skin. These are all interconnected the make-up of bacteria in the gut will affect the health of the vaginal flora as well as the skin, and to a lesser extent vice versa.

As discussed earlier in this article, UTIs are commonly caused by bad bacteria that live in the gut, like E. Coli, and make their way into the urinary system. In a healthy gut microbiome, bad bacteria are less likely to survive and grow, making it less likely for them to enter the urinary system and causing a UTI.

If the healthy bacterial balance and diversity in the gut is disrupted as a result of external factors , bad bacteria have an opportunity to thrive and lead to issues all over the body.

These external factors can also affect the vaginal microbiome. This can increase the risk for UTIs or yeast infections. A strong vaginal microbiome, on the other hand, can help to inhibit the entry and growth of harmful bacteria and other pathogens including yeast.

Researchers have investigated the link between the urinary microbiota and gut microbiota, and found a significant difference in the makeup of the gut microbiome in individuals prone to UTIs and healthy individuals.

Recommended Reading: Best Probiotics For Autoimmune Disease

How To Choose The Best Probiotic For Pregnancy:

Multi-Strains:

There are a wide range of options when it comes to picking a probiotic. But most experts agree that multi-strain probiotics offer more benefits than a single strain option. This is because multiple strains means youre providing more biodiversity which means better health.

The most common strains with proven benefits include:

• Lactobacilli
• Bifidobacteria
• Saccharomyces Boulardii
• Lactococcus lactis

There’s also been a rise in spore-based probiotic which limit the growth of bad bacteria in the gut. Limited research currently exists on this with pregnant women, but midwives are often recommending this to their patients currently and we are starting to see more and more prenatal probiotics offer this as part of their multi-strain formulas.

However, spore based probiotics are not always the right choice for everyone. It’s always best to consult with your healthcare provider who knows your unique situation before starting a new supplement.

Prebiotic + Probiotic Combo:

Prebiotics feed the probiotic, so it’s typically recommended to opt for a prebiotic/probiotic formula to ensure you are actually feeding the good bacteria you are putting in with the probiotic supplement, making it more effective.

Quality + Allergens:

Ideally, you want to avoid filler items like dyes, sugar, and artificial ingredients. Many prenatal probiotics are free of the common allergens like dairy, soy, gluten, and fish but you’ll still want to double check the ingredients.