Urinary tract challenges? What to do.

One of the first things any doctor will tell you to do when you have a urinary tract challenge is to drink plenty of water. Drink 8 glasses of water a day to keep your internal rivers flowing. In hot weather and when exercising or perspiring heavily, you’ll need to drink even more. When a generous amount of urine travels through your bladder, irritants and waste products are diluted. In fact, the color of your urine should be pale yellow. If it’s dark yellow, it’s a sign you need to step up your water intake.

Sip cranberry juice or take cranberry supplements. Cranberries help flush away intruders and keeps them from sticking to the bladder walls. Take 400 milligrams of cranberry extract in supplement form each day.

Load up on vitamin C. It makes your urine more acidic, which fights the intruders in your urinary tract.

Blast bad intruders with good intruders.Yogurt contains probiotics, which is the good intruder. It’s always a good idea to eat yogurt regularly, but it’s particularly important when you’re taking a prescription for your urinary imbalance, which can wipe out your body’s natural good intruders. You can find yogurt with live active cultures that can do the job.

Stay away from sugar. Sugar and its sweet cousins—honey, maple syrup, agave syrup, sodas, fruit juices, etc.—feed any microbes that may be present.

Cut out alcohol, caffeinated or carbonated drinks, spicy foods, citrus and vinegar. These all may cause burning. If these drinks and food irritate you, try to reduce them or eliminate them all together from your diet while experiencing urinary tract challenges.