Volume 1 Issue 20

HealtH First alertVolume 1 / Issue 21

It’s a bacterial infection that primarily affects women and its symptoms are the very definition of discomfort:

• Painfulandburningurination• Frequentandoftenurgentneedtourinate• Bloodinurine• Lowerabdominalpainorcramps• Chills• Odorousorcloudyurine• Painduringintercourse

Itsnameisurinarytractinfection(UTI).Women are more than 10 times more commonly afflicted than men byUTIs.Halfofallwomenexperi-enceatleastoneincidenceofUTIin their lives and 10% of women experienceat leastoneduringagivenyear.One-thirdofUTIepisodesreoccurwithinsixmonthsandcanbedifficulttotreat.1

What is a UTI and what causes it?Urinarytractinfectionsarebacterialinnatureandcanoccurinvariousareasoftheurinarysystem.Theytypicallyenterviatheurethra(urethritis),canadvanceupintothebladder(cystitis)andevenintothekidneys(pyelo-

nephritis),whichcanbecomeaserioushealthconcern.Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the bacterial strain involved in85%ofUTIs.2Becauseofashorterurethraanditscloseproximitytotheanus,E. coli infections in the urinarytractcanoccureasilyinwomen.E. coli are commonbacterianormallyfoundintheintestine,butarehighlyundesirableintheurinarytractwheretheycanmultiplyquicklycausinginfection.Evenworse,E. colicellwallshave“sticky”projectionsthatallowthemtoadheretobladderliningandmultiply,makingthem

verydifficulttowashout.BacterialstrainssuchasStaphy-lococcus saprophyticuscausemost remainingUTIs.YeastssuchasCandida albicans are rareinUTIsbutarerising.RiskfactorsforUTIincidenceincreasewiththefrequencyandintensityofsexualintercourse,diabetes,pregnancy,menopause,aweak

immunesystem,blockagesintheurinarytractandtheuseofharshskincleansers,birthcontrolpills,con-traceptivesandspermicides.RecentnewsreportsindicatethatUTIscanalsobecontractedbyeatingcontaminatedchicken.3

Medical treatment for UTIsPhysicianstypicallyuseantibiotictreatmentstodealwithUTIsafterdiagnosisthroughlaboratorytests.An-tibioticsareeffectiveanddependingonthetreatmentcancleartheconditionwithin1-10days.Unfortunately,antibioticsmaybelesseffectiveduringreoccurrenceasUTIscanbecausedbyavarietyofbacteria.Also,overuseofantibioticscanleadtobacterialresistance,makingtheantibioticlesseffectiveforfutureuse.Asone-thirdofinfectionsreoccur,manywomenareleftfrustratedinfindingaUTIsolution.Preventing UTIsPreventingurinarytractinfectionsisthebestcourseofaction.ThereareanumberofsimplestepsonecantaketoreducetheriskofUTIs.•Drinksufficientwatertoflushouttheurinarytractanddiluteurine

•Donotholdurination•Takeshowers insteadofbaths (lessbacterialexposure)

•Wipefronttobackafterurinationorbowelmovements•Cleanbeforeandaftersexualintercourseandempty

bladder as soon as possible•Avoidirritatingfeminineproductssuchasdouchesandpowderswhichcanirritatetheurethra

Natural remedies for UTIsAnotherwaytopreventandtreatUTIsisthroughsup-plementation with one of or a combination of several naturalingredientsthathavebeenshowntobesafeandeffective.Cranberry – Cranberryisnotonlyapopularfruitandjuice,itisalsothemostpopularnaturalingredientfordealingwithUTIs.Cranberrydeliverstwokeyactions:1)cranberryacidifiestheurinetoreducebacterialgrowth,and2)preventsadherenceofthebacteriainthebladder’slining.CranberryisconsideredmoreeffectiveinpreventingthantreatingUTIs.D-mannose –D-mannoseisasimplesugarthatmanyfindhelpfulforUTIs.ItworksbycoatingtheE. coli.BeingevenstickierthantheE. coli,d-mannosepreventsadherenceofthebacteriaintheliningofthebladderallowingthebacteriatobewashedout.D-mannoseishighlyrecommendedbynaturopathsbuthasyettobevalidatedbyclinicalstudies.Hibiscus extract –Thehibiscusplant(Hibiscussab-dariffa)fromwesternAfricahasbeenusedforcenturiesinherbalteas.Ithasbeentraditionallyusedtotreaturinaryinfections,menstrualcramping,highbloodpressure,sooththerespiratorytractandhasbeenusedexternallyforskinandhairhealth.Hibiscusisrichinavarietyofnaturalcompounds,suchasanthocyanins,proanthocyanins,polysac-charidesandorganicacidsthathaveledittobeingfurtherstudiedforitsabilitytopreventandtreatUTIs.InFrance,aspecificpatentedextractofhibiscuscalledUTIROSE™hasundergonedouble-blind,humanclinicaltrialstoevaluatethispotential.In thestudyofUTIROSE™hibiscusextract,90womenbetween theagesof 18and55with ahistoryof reoccurringUTIs(8ormoreperyear)wereevaluated.Overa24weekperiod,thewomentaking200mgofUTIROSE™dailydecreasedtheirincidenceofUTIsby77%(vs.20%oftheplacebo).4

Thesewereextremelypromising results;morepositivethananyplantextractpreviouslystudied.

At last . . .

Clinically-proven prevention of urinary tract infections

“…women decreased their incidence of UTIs by 77%

when taking 200 mg of UTIROSE™ per day…”

continued on page 2

UTI relief!

UTIROSE™Hibiscusextract(hibiscussabdariffa,flower) . . . . . . .100mg (12.5:1extract,equivalentto1250mg)Cranberryjuice,dried(vacciniummacrocarpon,fruit) . . . . . . . . . .200mgCranberryfruit(vacciniummacrocarpon,fruit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100mg

Medicinal ingredients:Eachvegetablecapsulecontains:

D-mannose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25mgRiceflour,colloidalsilicondioxide,magnesiumstearate,cellulose.

Non-medicinal ingredients:

UsedinHerbalmedicinetohelppreventrecurrenturinarytractinfections(UTIs).Providesantioxidantsforthemaintenanceofgoodhealth.

Recommended use:

UTIROSE™ Clinical Study Results

Allaert, F.A. Prevention of recurrent cystitis in women: double-blind, placebo-controlled study of Hibiscus sab-dariffa L. extract. La Lettre de l’Infectiologue—Transla-tion of the original issue • Tome XXV - n° 2 - March April 2010.

Adults:Take2capsulesperdayorasdirectedbyahealthcarepractitioner.Recommended dose:

Takeforaminimumof4weekstoseebeneficialeffects.Consultyourhealthcarepractitionerforusebeyond3months.

Recommended duration of use:

Consultahealthcarepractitionerpriortouseifyouaretakingbloodthinners.Consultahealthcarepractitionerpriortouseifyouhaveahistoryofkidneystones.Consultahealthcarepractitionerifsymptomspersistorworsen.

Risk information:

Also consider these other Health First® products for additional UTI support:

(article continued from page 1)

HealthFirst®productsavailableexclusivelyat:

www.healthfirst.ca

AnalysisshowedthatUTIROSE™achievedtheseresultsthroughseveralmodesofaction:1.Inhibition of bacterial flora –Unlikecranberryor

D-mannose,UTIROSE™actuallydemonstratedtheability to decontaminate the E. coli and Candida albicansinvolvedinUTIs.StudieshaveshowntheUTIROSE™candecontaminateE. colifrommediumwithinasingledayduetoitsphenoliccompounds.

2.Anti-adherence of E. coli –Likecranberry,UTIROSE™hasanthocyanidins,proanthocyani-dins and flavonoids that help to prevent E. coli from adheringtobladderwalls,allowingthebacteriatobewashedout.

3.Acidification of urine – Thehibiscusactedascranberryinacidifyingtheurine,makingitmoredifficultforbacteriatogrow.UTIROSE™intakehasbeenabletochangethenormalpHofurineat7.5-8.0to5.6.

4.Avoidance of germ resistance – AlthoughUTIROSE™isabletodecontaminatesuchbacteriaas E. coli,itdoesnotcarrywithittheriskofantibiot-icsoveruse.Excessiveantiobioticusecanresultinbacterialresistanceovertime,leadingtoincreasedinfectionriskandlimitedtreatmentsuccess.

TheotherimprovementspatientsexperiencedintheUTIROSE™studywerereducedpainduringurinationandareductioninurineodour.

VitaminC1000mgTimeRelease

Immuno-FirstMulti-FirstMultivitamins

VitaminCfromascorbicacidhelpstofurtheracidifyurinepreventingbacterialgrowth.

Immunesystemsupport

toreduceUTIrisk.

Helpsthebody’sresponsetostresswhendealing

withtheinfection.

UTISupremeisacombinationofnaturalingredientstohelppreventpainfulanduncomfortableurinarytractinfections.• UTISupreme’sprimaryingredientisUTIROSE™-apatentedextractofhibiscusdevelopedinFrance.• Atadailydoseof200mgperday,UTIROSE™isclinically-proventopreventreoccurrenceofurinarytractinfectionsinwomenwithahistoryoffrequentinfectionsby77%.

• UTIROSE™hibiscushasanantibacterial“kill-factor”thatallowsittodecontaminatebacteriasuchas E. coli and Candida albicanswithinasingleday.

• UTIROSE™helpstodeodorizeurine.• UTISupremecontainsbothcranberryjuiceandcranberryfruit.Cranberryisknowntohelppreventurinarytractinfectionsbymakingitdifficultforbacteriatoadheretotheurinarytract,allowingittobewashedoutduringurination.

• UTISupremealsocontainsd-mannoseasasupportiveingredient.Likecranberry,d-mannoseactslikeananti-adherentforbacteriainthetract.

0%

-10%

-20%

-30%

-40%

-50%

-60%

-70%

-80%

UTIROSE™

Urinary comfort

Red

uctio

n of

Infe

ctio

ns

D84(12 Weeks)

D168(24 Weeks)

p=

0.0

03

p<0.

001

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

0

0 1 2 3 4

Days of Treatment

E. c

oli p

opul

atio

n (C

FU

/g)

Antimicrobial efficiency of UTIROSE™

Clinicalresearchstudyshowedthat200mgperdayofUTIROSE™inwomenwithahistoryofreoccurringUTIshelpsreduceUTIsby77%over24weeks.

UTIROSE™hibiscusextractcontainspowerfulphenolic acids that can decontaminate E. coli bacteriawithinasingleday.

UTIROSE™ is a trademark of Naturex Inc.

REFERENCES:1. University of Maryland Medical Center http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/urinary-tract-000169.htm2. Balch, Phyllis A., Prescription for Nutritional Healing. Avery. 2006. p. 245.3. www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/17/uti-chicken-urinary-tract-infection-contaminated-e-coli_n_1285519.html4. Allaert, F.A. Prevention of recurrent cystitis in women: double-blind, placebo-controlled study of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. extract.

La Lettre de l’Infectiologue—Translation of the original issue • Tome XXV - n° 2 - March April 2010.