Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
What is a UTI?
How the UTI develops
The kidneys play an important role in controlling the amount of water in the blood, and filtering out waste products to create urine.
Each kidney has a tube that joins the kidney to the bladder.
The urine leaves the kidneys through that tube and enters the bladder.
The bladder sends a ‘signal’ to say “need to urinate”, and the urine leaves the body through another tube (urethra).
The urinary system is designed to reduce the risk of serious infection in the kidneys, and it does this by stopping the urine from flowing back up into the kidneys from the bladder.
A UTI comes from a lack of bio-available copper and low ceruloplasmin (this study demonstrates that copper is involved in limiting bacteria growth in the urinary tract).
Typical UTI symptoms?
UTIs don’t always cause symptoms, but when they do, they may include:
- A strong urge to urinate that doesn’t go away
- A burning feeling when urinating
- Urinating often, only passing small amounts of urine
- Cloudy or strong-smelling urine
- In women, pelvic pain around the centre of the pelvis and around the area of the pubic bone
Suggestions for UTI relief
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
- 1 cup warm water or orange juice or lemon juice
Alternative suggestions
| Alternative suggestion | Details | How will it help? |
| Baking Soda | 1 teaspoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in 500ml (16 ounces) of water once a day | This will raise the pH level of your urine which slows down the UTI pathogens which are feeding and breeding and can reduce pain in less than an hour |
| Boron |
Boric acid inhibits bacteria growth. During many infections (such as UTIs), a biofilm can be formed to protect the bacteria from what the immune system is doing to fight the infection. This makes it difficult for the body to heal and can cause the infection to repeatedly come back. Many studies show that boric acid (Boron) can stop biofilm from forming and help achieve healing. |
|
| Soak in an Epsom bath | Epsom Salt bath recipe here | If you have a UTI, your body is under stress and will be burning magnesium at a rapid rate; a magnesium bath will help replenish the depleted magnesium stores. |
| Raw garlic crushed | Take 2 average cloves of garlic and mince. While you are there might as well add garlic to as many meals as possible! | Garlic has properties that can kill off pathogens and decrease pain. |
| Castor Oil Pack | Place over your bladder and urethra for soothing comfort – always go slow by doing short periods of time and observing your body’s response. | Castor oil is known for soothing pain and easing inflammation. |
| Things to avoid | 1. Sugar in all its forms (fruit, soda, sweets) 2. Alcohol 3. Tomato sauce, juice, or soup 4. Cranberry juice 5. Caffeine 6. Sex |
|
UTIs and The Root Cause Protocol (RCP)
Retinol
Most UTIs are caused by E. coli that live harmlessly in the gut. However, when shed in the faeces, the bacteria can spread to the opening of the urinary tract and up to the bladder, where they can cause problems (so always wipe from front to back! Important to know – E. coli hates retinol! The best forms of retinol (an important step in the RCP) are beef liver and other organs, plus cod liver oil, eggs, butter, cream, meats and fatty fish.
Stress + magnesium
Stress (of all kinds) throws our minerals out of balance. It looks like too much iron stored/ not moving around the body and not enough bio-available copper. Stress also strips your body of magnesium which is critical to help your body create energy. The pH imbalance then creates a fabulous breeding ground for pathogens to feed on, E. coli, to be specific! So getting your body back into balance will create a healthy and strong environment, with the right pH level, so that bacteria and pathogens have no desire to take up residence! Add magnesium to your daily routine (through the RCP recommendations).
Nervous system support
Ever heard the turn of phrase associated with wetting your pants with fear? There’s a reason for it. The emotion of fear is associated with UTIs. Anxiety is the emotion associated with the kidney and bladder. If you have fear in your life about the UTI or anything else, consider Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) or other modalities to learn to calm the nervous system out of the fight/flight state.
I hope you find this information helpful. If you’d like to learn more about UTIs and how to get your body back in balance, I recommend booking a consult with either myself or one of my fellow friendly RCPCs. Choose your consultant here. If you’re not sure about which consult option to go with, I recommend a 15min consult advice zoom call.
Thanks for reading!
Chrissy Murphy
Root Cause Protocol Consultant