D-Mannose: Natural Treatment for Urinary Tract Infections
 (Vitamin Research News, July 2003)

Physicians usually treat Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) with antibiotics, which cause adverse side effects, including bowel disturbances, yeast infections and the propagation of drug-resistant bacteria. Now Lane Lenard, PhD and Dr. Jonathan V. Wright, MD report that D-Mannose, a simple sugar, is an alternative treatment for UTI that works as effectively as the antibiotics without the negative side-effects.

Most Urinary Tract Infections occur because E-coli bacteria, which aid digestion in the intestines, migrate into the urinary tract and then attach to the lining of the bladder, using hair-like projections called fimbria. These bacteria adhere because the glycoproteins at the end of each fibrium bind to any mannose molecules they touch, and the cells lining the urinary tract produce mannose. When a person ingests a dose of D-Mannose, much of it enters the bloodstream, from which the kidneys extract it and suspend it in the urine. The mannose in the urine coats the bacteria, preventing them from adhering to the cell walls and the body then excretes the E-coli during urination.

Peaches, apples, oranges and some berries (like cranberries) contain mannose.