Swap Cranberry Juice For A Popular High-Protein Ingredient To Prevent Annoying UTIs

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) can cause physical pain, as well as other UTI symptoms you shouldn't ignore, such as cloudy urine, burning during urination, and urgency. Yet they can also cause fiscal pain. According to a 2023 study in PLoS One, women ages 18 and older who experienced uncomplicated UTIs were more likely to skip work or be less productive than those who didn't have UTIs. On average, they were also likely to spend hundreds of dollars on UTI diagnosis and treatments.

In other words, it makes sense — and cents — to avoid UTIs, starting by making dietary habit changes. For instance, consuming cranberry juice or cranberry byproducts has earned popularity as a UTI prevention strategy. Other foods can help reduce your chances of a UTI, too, including unsweetened yogurt.

Unsweetened yogurt contains beneficial organisms that help your body fight off the "bad" bacterial strains associated with UTIs like Escherichia coli (commonly referred to as E. coli), Enterococcus faecalis, and Staphylococcus saprophyticus. And if those kinds of bacteria can't settle in your bladder, they can't become a problem. Plus, unsweetened yogurt lacks sugar, one of the food ingredients you should avoid for bladder health.

Unsweetened yogurt contains active cultures, which are the product of fermentation and serve in a probiotic capacity. Technically, these cultures are also bacteria, but they're a "good" variety that supports your system rather than attacks it. As WebMD explains, probiotics promote a healthy bacterial balance throughout parts of the body that make up the human urinary tract.

A 2021 article published in Evidence-Based Practice highlighted the anti-UTI benefits of probiotics. The article noted that, at least for women, ingesting probiotics could effectively reduce the risk of UTI occurrence. In fact, a 2018 analysis including nine clinical trials showed that taking probiotics had the same effect as taking prescription medication for UTIs.

However, the article only focused on the bacteria Lactobacillus as the primary active probiotic agent. Consequently, you may want to take steps to see if your favorite unsweetened yogurt contains Lactobacillus. To check, just look at the label for the word "Lactobacillus." Alternatively, see if the yogurt (or yogurt product) contains "live and active cultures."

How much unsweetened yogurt should you eat to potentially reduce your chance of a UTI? A 2018 study in the Turkish Journal of Urology might provide some guidance. The study found that consuming 1 billion colony-forming units (CFUs) of Lactobacillus up to twice a day could potentially regulate a woman's vaginal and urinary microbiota, ultimately providing protection against a UTI.

What does 1 billion CFUs translate to in terms of unsweetened yogurt? A 2017 study in Advances in Nutrition suggests that a serving of 150 to 250 milliliters (about 5 to 8 ounces) contains up to 1 billion CFUs. Accordingly, eating a prepackaged single cup of yogurt could suffice.

However, this doesn't mean you have to swap cranberry juice for yogurt. You could always eat both to intensify your efforts to say goodbye to UTIs. You'll also get the other nutritional upsides of yogurt, such as its protein content. One cup delivers approximately 8.5 grams of protein into your system.