UTIs are incredibly common, with around 50% of women experiencing one at some point in their lives. The first sign of a UTI is generally a painful burning sensation while peeing. Ironically, another sign is that a UTI will make you want to pee more often, but also can make it more difficult to pee. There are several other symptoms which we’ll discuss below, but firstly, what is a UTI?
A UTI occurs when a type of bacteria – usually E.coli, the bacteria that lives inside the large intestine – gets into your urinary tract. The urinary tract is the set of organs that makes and stores urine. It includes your bladder (used for storing urine), kidneys (which filter your blood of waste to create urine), ureters (small tubes that carry pee from the kidneys to the bladder) and your urethra, which is the tube that pee comes out of when you visit the loo. Burning pain up the urethra is usually the first sign of a UTI.
A comprehensive guide to the medical aspects of UTIs can be found via the Cleveland Clinic. Just as with other female healthcare-related topics, women pass around lots of advice on treating UTIs and dealing with the symptoms of them. We’ve done the research on which ones are true so that you don’t have to.
Myth 1: Cranberry juice and coconut water can “cure” UTIs
Verdict: MYTH
There’s not enough evidence to confirm that cranberry juice can help with a UTI, whether we’re talking about prevention or treatment, according to Penn Medicine. One January 2025 academic study found that taking a cranberry supplement reduced the risk of UTIs by 52% in female patients with recurrent UTIs, but this is definitely not enough to draw any solid conclusions about its efficacy.
Meanwhile, there is even less Western medical evidence for the benefits of coconut water in treating UTIs, but alternative and natural healing practices such as Ayurveda support the use of coconut water in urology.
Cranberry juice and coconut water are both diuretics, which means they encourage the production of urine. Peeing is one of the ways our bodies flush out infection, and these beverages will help you do more of it, which can Since peeing more often helps to flush the bacteria out of the urinary tract (source), these two beverages can help to provide relief faster
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