Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Have you heard of interstitial cystitis? This is a condition that can cause significant bladder pain and pressure. The good news is that there are clinically studied nutrients that can help promote the health of your bladder.
Don’t wait until something is wrong to pay attention to your blood sugar levels and kidney health. Learn about the nutrients you need to help keep them both in balance.
urine
InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey, Ph.
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You may have noticed that sometimes the foods that you eat can change the color of your urine. Your urine color can change rapidly. Most of the time it’s temporary and doesn’t mean anything, but sometimes it really does. There are thousands of things washed away in your urine and some of them affect the color.†
If the color does change and it’s related to a health condition, the color may not be very specific. It just gives the doctor an idea of what to look at. The doctor must do a blood test and a urine test to get more concrete answers. The doctor also has to consider symptoms.†
Urine color varies according to how much fluid you drink. I happen to drink a lot of green tea and water and sometimes I’m overhydrated, so my urine is very clear. I should probably cut back on some fluid. But if it gets a deeper yellow, then you’re dehydrated and you need to drink more fluid. Urine gets its yellow color from urobilin, which is a breakdown product of heme. Your urine should be in some range of yellow.†
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So what if your urine is a dark brown color like cola? This could be related to food. Fava beans, rhubarb and aloe vera can cause this. Muscle breakdown from excessive exercise may also be a reason for this change, as well as something going on in your liver. There are many drugs that can turn your urine dark brown, such as chloroquine, primaquine, metronidazole and more.†
If the urine is pink or red, that could be blood, which may be indicative of a urinary tract infection (UTI) or kidney stones. If that’s the case, you will likely experience pain along with that. If not, you need to speak with your doctor, as it may be related to your bladder. There are also foods that can make your urine pink or red, including beets, rhubarb and blackberries, as well as a lot of drugs such as some laxatives and chemotherapy drugs.†
Green urine can be related to eating asparagus. When you eat asparagus, not only can it create a detectable odor in your urine, but it can also give it a slight green tint. A lot of times, if the urine turns blue or green and it’s really vivid, it’s a dye from something like candy or other processed foods. Infections such as yeast infections can also turn urine greenish. Again, this would likely be accompanied by some pain or burning and an unpleasant odor.†
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What about orange or dark orange urine? That could be the bile ducts, from the gallbladder and liver. If it’s orange, your stool is pale, your skin is becoming itchy and yellowish, and your eyes are looking yellow, you need to see a doctor right away.†
Cloudy urine is usually indicative of a UTI or kidney stones and you should have this looked at. Foam in the urine once or twice is usually from something you ate. But if you’re getting foam all the time, especially if you have an autoimmune disease, that could mean that your body’s filters aren’t working properly and protein is leaking into the urine. This is a sign that there’s a kidney problem.†
So what’s good for the kidneys? Drinking enough water is important. If you have too little water, the kidneys have to work really hard. This could cause kidney failure.†
Grape seed extract is great for the kidneys. Studies in post-menopausal women showed that when they were put on grape seed extract, they didn’t lose any kidney function. There are also some studies on people with reduced kidney function. When the researchers gave these people grape seed extract, it helped to reduce inflammation in the body, restore antioxidant levels, protect the heart, brain and eyes, and support the body’s filtration systems.†
Carnosine is another nutrient that is amazing for the kidneys. Carnosine is a dipeptide that is made in the body that is very protective for the brain, eyes and muscles. Studies have shown that diabetics who develop kidney damage have an inability to use carnosine efficiently, so I always recommend carnosine to these people. I also recommend ubiquinol to these people. In studies of people with reduced kidney function, when they raised the level of ubiquinol in their blood, their kidneys started to work a little better.†
In this episode, Jerry Hickey, Ph. discusses the different factors that can impact your urine color, and how this can be indicative of your health. He also recommends various nutrients that can help protect and support the kidneys.†
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A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection in any part of the urinary system. It is more common than you think, especially in women. Clinical studies say D-Mannose can help protect you.
Cranberries are such a unique and beneficial fruit, due to its powerful antioxidants. Oftentimes, we commonly think of urinary tract and bladder health. But there are more beneficial things that cranberry extract can do for your overall health and wellness.
Bacteria is commonly thought of as negative. There are plenty of harmful bacteria that can lead to a number of risks when it comes to the bacteria inside of your body. But with harmful bacteria comes beneficial bacteria called Probiotics.
Probiotics are friendly bacteria that make up the microbiome in your gut or digestive tract and are the key to good health, especially to good digestion and regularity. Bacteria, though naturally present in the body, accounts for two pounds of bio-mass in your intestines, which need a balance of beneficial bacteria to promote good health.
Levels of probiotics decrease with age and can also be affected by other factors, including a poor diet and obesity. As the levels of probiotics decrease, problematic bacteria in the gut thrive, which can lead to digestive problems like bloating and gas.
There are many reasons why your doctor or certified nutritionist would recommend taking a probiotic supplement. Supplements come in various forms and there are plenty of different brands and ingredients to choose from. A nutrionist/doctor will be able to recommend which probiotic is best for you..
Probiotics may be beneficial for you if –
Antibiotics were created to eradicate bacterial infections, but they can cause damage and interrupt the balance between good and bad bacteria in your gut. Symptoms of this imbalance include diarrhea and gas. Taking probiotics during the course of your antibiotics can help replenish the good bacteria and help reduce some of the side effects. Talk to your healthcare provider before starting any medication or a supplement protocol.
According to a report in the April 2002 issue of Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, researchers analyzed the results of 34 studies and concluded that the use of probiotics during antibiotic therapy resulted in a 50% lower risk of developing Antibiotic-Associate Diarrhea (AAD) compared to those taking a placebo, in both children and adult data from the study.
In a 2013 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, researchers found that probiotic supplementation over a 24 week period showed significantly higher weight loss than those who took a placebo. In the double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial of obese men and women, each subject consumed either two capsules of probiotics or a placebo. Each group was submitted to moderate energy restriction for the first 12 weeks, followed by 12 weeks of weight maintenance. After 24 weeks, a significant treatment between sex interactions was observed. The mean weight loss in women in the probiotic group was significantly higher than that in women in the placebo group.
Probiotics, especially the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species, have been shown in numerous clinical trials to support healthy digestion. When your gut bacteria is balanced and healthy, it keeps your entire digestive system working as it should. This allows for healthy digestion and absorption of foods (carbohydrates, fats and proteins), maintaining acidity of the colon and normalizing bowel movements, eliminates issues with gas, and supports the ability to digest dairy products.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, emerging research is finding that the benefits of probiotics may extend beyond the digestive tract and into the skin. “In fact”, the website reports, “skin prone to acne or rosacea has shown improvement with daily probiotic use, giving dermatologists reason to consider supplementing traditional acne therapy with a dose of this beneficial bacteria.”
Whitney P. Bowe, MD, FAAD, a board certified dermatologist and clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, reports that oral probiotics – sold as dietary supplements containing Lactobacilli and/or Bifidobacterium – could influence skin conditions by affecting what is known as the “Gut-Brain-Skin Axis”. Here’s how it works, according to Bowe – stress in combination with processed foods that lack fiber can slow digestion, which changes the type and number of bacteria that live in the gut into unhealthy bacteria. Eventually, the gut lining becomes leaky and toxins are released into the bloodstream, causing inflammation throughout the body, including flare ups of acne or rosacea.
According to the University of Colorado’s department of Urogynecology, one area where probiotics have been studies is in women with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), which occurs due to the transmission of pathogens (bacteria) from the rectum and/or vagina to the urethra or bladder. According to a randomized, controlled trial (published to the universities website) involving treatment of UTIs with Lactobacillus probiotics, there was a 73% reduction in episodes of recurrent UTI compared with the previous year. The control group had six UTIs per patient per year vs. 1.3 UTIs per patient per year after intravaginal administration of probiotics.