Cystitis, especially if recurrent, is an unpleasant disorder with repercussions in everyday life. The review we are talking about today shows the progress made by science in recent years and the results of studies that indicate that d mannose is a natural remedy useful to prevent cystitis, possible relapses and to accelerate healing if the infection is already present. The study is available online and was published in the journal Antibiotics thanks to the work of an Italian team from the universities of Rome La Sapienza, Pisa and Palermo (De Nunzio et al, Antibiotics, 2021).
Cystitis and the problem of antibiotics
It is estimated that, in the United States, 11% of women report a medical diagnosis of urinary tract infection per year. More than half of women will surely show another cystitis episode within a year after the first infection. UTIs, such as cystitis, can have unpleasant consequences and worsen the quality of life. Antibiotics are, to date, the primary treatment for fighting urinary infections. The problem is that antibiotics can bring important side effects, such as diarrhea, nausea, headaches and candida infections. In addition, if used often and for long periods of time, they lead to bacterial resistance whereby drugs lose their effectiveness and infections become increasingly difficult to eradicate. This is why science is constantly looking for alternative remedies that are able to behave like antibiotics but without causing resistance in the bacteria and without bringing with them side effects. D mannose is gaining more and more importance in the light of various scientific studies conducted in recent years, which have demonstrated its ability to fight urinary tract infections.
D mannose prevents and treats urinary tract infections
D mannose is a sugar that has shown, as studies indicate, the ability to counteract the adhesion of bacteria to the mucous membrane of the urinary tract. In particular, D mannose is effective in inhibiting the action of Escherichia coli, the main cause of urinary infections. Not only that, as emerges from research, it has also been hypothesized that D mannose is a modulator of the immune system, thus also acting on our natural defenses, making them more effective in fighting infections. D mannose has been shown to be beneficial both when it comes to preventing and when it comes to treating cystitis. In fact, the daily intake, continued for 6 months, of 2 grams of powdered D mannose dissolved in 200 ml of water has been able to protect against any urinary infections more effectively than nitrofurantoin, a drug commonly used against urinary infections. In particular, the group that took D mannose had an incidence of cystitis which was 14.6%, the group that took nitrofurantoin 20% while in the group used as a control the 60% of people were diagnosed with cystitis. D mannose also reduced the risk of relapse. Finally, D mannose has been able to intervene in the case of cystitis in progress, reducing pain and the frequency of urination.
Conclusions
D mannose is a sugar that is quickly excreted from the body and does not cause the side effects that antibiotics can bring with them. Only rarely and in predisposed people can D mannose cause some episodes of diarrhea. Not only that, D mannose does not cause bacteria resistance to treatments. Finally, it is also possible to combine D mannose with other natural remedies to enhance their action, such as cranberry, probiotics and noni. You can find D mannose supplements in chemist's and herbalist's shops.
