For people who are suffering from UTI, Beer is the only alcoholic drink that can be suitable for them to drink.
But, if you have a UTI, you must only drink the kinds of beer that have a low alcoholic content and avoid those which are high in alcohol because a high alcoholic content in beer or in any other alcoholic beverage can agitate your bladder and worsen your UTI.
Whilst if you consume the right kind of beer in moderation, you can potentially improve your UTI condition.
You can consider suggesting low alcoholic beer as a possible dietary option to help you with your UTI condition to your healthcare provider, but do not try it if they think that it would not help your individual UTI case.
In this article, we will try to describe to you the details of why beer is the only alcoholic drink suitable for UTI. I know that many of you, like me, of course, love this refreshing drink. Who does not like to drink a cold beer for refreshment with friends?
However, many patients who suffer from UTI, and at the same time they like beer so much, always think first of whether they should drink or not drink beer.
Given that it is a type of alcoholic beverage, these patients are afraid that they will worsen their health, or that they will worsen the UTI by drinking this particular beverage, even if it would be just one glass of beer or one bottle of beer.
I have already written about which drinks are allowed for UTI, and what to drink for UTI. If you have not read those articles, you will read a lot of useful tips
Beer is a sparkling refreshing drink with a distinctive flavor and bitter taste.
Today beer is very common in the whole world. Beer is produced in breweries and serves in pubs, various cafes, and bars.
Beer is a low alcoholic drink, produced in the process of alcoholic fermentation of malt, hops, water, and beer yeast.
According to the color of the beer, they are divided into bright, dark, and black.
The alcohol content of today’s beer ranges from 0.5% to 10%.
Beer is divided according to its alcohol content into: soft drinks – non-alcoholic beer (less than 0.5% alcohol), light beer (below 3.5% alcohol), standard beers (from 3.5 to 5% alcohol), strong beer (over 5% alcohol), and barley beer (over 8% alcohol).
Beer ingredients
Beer is a good source of certain minerals that play a key role in numerous metabolic processes. If consumed in moderate amounts, beer definitely can improve your health in various ways.
Beer contains 93% of water. It contains vitamins B group (B1, B2, B6, B12, some types of beer also contain niacin, vitamin B3), folic acid, very important minerals Mg, Ca, K, Fe, Zn, high levels of silicon, phosphorus, sodium very little, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, and besides carbohydrates for which it is rich, it contains proteins, flavonoids, and antioxidants.
The basic raw materials used for the production of beer are water, barley, beer yeast, and hops.
Each raw material is very important for the type of beer, flavor, chemical composition, and nutritive value.
The most common cereal used in beer production is barley that determines the taste of beer, color, density, and, besides yeast and hops, the beer also provides a number of useful ingredients.
Water as the main ingredient of beer is very important for urinary infections. Namely, numerous scientific investigations confirm that if patients suffering from UTI consumes more water, minimum 1.5 litres (or 6 to 8 glasses) per day can prevent UTI.
Water is very important for UTI because it flushes the bacteria through the urinary tract, prevents their retention and reproduction, feeding them in the urinary tract, and hence prevents the UTI from getting worse.
Water keeps nutrients and electrolytes in the body. When a patient drinks enough water, this means that it is hydrated, dilutes the urine, accelerates its flow in the urinary tract, eliminates bacteria, and prevents the occurrence of UTI.
Barley contains the phenolic caffeic acid and flavonoids. Most of the phenolic compounds are antioxidants. Antioxidants may significantly reduce the risk of developing urinary tract symptoms and are very good for UTI.
Barley contains 3-8 grams of beta-glucan per 100 grams. Beta-glucan is a prebiotic fiber that helps the growth of good bacteria in the digestive tract, as well as lactobacillus strains.
It has been shown that beta-glucan in the barley reduces blood sugar levels, which is beneficial for UTI.
In addition, barley is rich in selenium. This helps with thyroid function, provides antioxidant benefits, reduces inflammation, and strengthens the immune system. The immune system is important to protect the body from harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
Yeast is a microorganism through which fermentation takes place in beer. Yeast affects the character and taste in addition to fermentation. The yeasts used in beer production determine the type of beer to be produced (beer of the upper or lower fermentation).
Also, yeasts are rich in vitamin B groups (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, folic acid) and minerals (iron, sodium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, potassium), which gives the nutritive value of beer.
However, these minerals and vitamins concentrations in beer are very low.
Hops, an essential ingredient of beer, is a rich source of flavonoids, which are potent antioxidants.
Hops have an antibiotic effect that favors the activity of brewer’s yeast over less desirable microorganisms.
The acidity of hops is a preservative and makes the beer a sour compound which is very good for UTI because acidity repels the bacteria, especially uropathogenic bacteria. See this research.
Beer does not contain fat. Fats are the main cause of obesity, and obesity increases the risk of diabetes, and altogether have a very bad effect on UTI.
Obesity is one of the risks of urinary incontinence which worsens UTI.
Urine incontinence or involuntary urinary discharge is the inability to control the urinary tract. But also beer contains carbs which can contribute to obesity.
Phosphorus is very important for the maintenance of kidney health.
It enables the proper removal of harmful substances through the process of urinating and excretion.
Phosphorus enables the maintenance of a healthy balance of all the fluids so that it allows the whole body to be healthy and without any toxins. This is very good for UTI.
Beer contains phytochemicals xanthohumol, which is a bitter substance in beer and has anti-carcinogenic effects and helps reduce weight.
Beer also contains lactoflavin and nicotinic acid, which have anti-cancer effects too.
Beer contains a lot of fiber. A regular bottle of beer contains around 20 per cent of the recommended regular dosage of fiber, which helps in better bowel function. Which is very healthy for the large intestines and the UTI.
Beer contains polyphenol compounds that reduce the level of bad cholesterol, improve immunity, and can even be an effective weapon to fight cancer.
Strengthening immunity protects the body and the bacteria that cause UTI.
Beer increases the levels and impact of vitamin E, acting as an antioxidant and an immune system stimulant that strengthens the immune system and fights against the cause of UTI.
What are the benefits of beer on UTI?
Beer is an acidic compound. This is very important and is beneficial to the UTI because the acidic medium kills bacteria or impedes their growth and reproduction so as to positively affect the person suffering from UTI.
Different types of beers have different acidity, but in essence, they all have the ability to kill bacteria and behave favorably on UTI.
Scientists from Finland have excluded beer from other alcoholic drinks because they found that it significantly reduces the risk of kidney stones in kidneys.
Water and alcohol contained in the beer increase the urine flow and dilute the urine so that the risk of kidney stones is reduced.
Alcohol also can increase the secretion of calcium, which is the main component of kidney stones. Kidney stones are a risk factor for UTI.
If beer is drunk in limited quantities, it prevents dehydration of the body, the formation of kidney stones, and the deterioration of the UTI. See this research.
In the case of drinking a large amount of beer, many empty calories are obtained, and obesity can develop.
Obesity is one of the factors for the formation of kidney stones, as well as the development of diabetes, which due to elevated levels of blood sugar can retain bacteria in the body and that can cause and aggravate UTI.
Research shows that beer can help reduce inflammation in the body.
And this is an important fact because inflammation is the root cause of many diseases.
The study showed that hops are the ingredient of beer that has anti-inflammatory properties.
When tested, scientists found that hops in the form of beer interfered with compounds in the body that caused the causative agents.
The study showed that one or two drinks per day can stimulate the immune system to fight infection. In this way, the body is also strengthened in the fight against urinary inflammatory processes, which is favorable for UTI.
Beer is also an antioxidant, which has indirect positive effects on UTI.
In this way, they increase the body’s defense capabilities against bacteria that are the main cause of UTI. Scientists at the University of Washington have discovered that when buying beer, it is better to choose darker as it contains more antioxidants.
The chance of developing diabetes is lower in people who drink beer than non-drinkers, a study found. Those who drink one to six beers in a week have a 21 per cent lower chance of developing the disease, they said.
If beer is drunk in limited quantities, it will not reduce the production of the vasopressin hormone, which is responsible for water resorption, which works favorably on UTI.
Beer is a diuretic if consumed in moderate amounts, otherwise, there will be a need for constant urination, and excessive urination can aggravate UTI.
Beer contains several B vitamins which are very important for metabolic functions in the body, such as the production of red blood cells. In this way, it strengthens the immune system and works very favorably on UTI.
Particularly favorable is the ratio of sodium and potassium, where potassium is an advantage, which is very important for the proper balance of fluid in the body and the prevention of the formation of kidney stones. This works favorably on UTI.
In people under chronic stress, hormones released in the body, especially cortisol can increase the level of blood sugar. Also, stress can weaken the immune system and all this can aggravate UTI.
So it would be best if these people could drink beer in moderate amounts to have a beneficial effect on UTI because beer reduces stress and insomnia.
It is very important to emphasize that beer should be drunk in moderate amounts in order to have beneficial effects on UTI.
Under moderate amounts, it takes up to 2 glasses a day for men and one glass for women. The glass is from 0.25-0.30 dl.
With moderate consumption of beer or a careful enjoyment in soft liquor in the summer months, sometimes, we compensate for the loss of water through sweating and the body returns minerals, a cocktail of vitamins and useful biologically active substances that act on the UTI.
When you buy beer it is best to choose small manufacturers. Apparently, beer from mass production has fewer health properties and can even contain up to 80 times fewer hops than a drink from lesser-known breweries.
Here’s how other alcohols affect UTI
Alcohol in addition to irritation and urinary tract infection. There are other harmful effects on the body.
Your kidneys have the task of filtering harmful substances from the blood, and consuming alcohol makes this task much harder.
Consuming large quantities of alcohol leads to dehydration of the body, which is a major stress on the kidneys.
High blood pressure is a common symptom of alcoholism and is one of the most common causes of kidney disease. Liver disease, another common disorder associated with alcoholism, impairs renal function by preventing normal blood flow.
Drinking drinks with high levels of alcohol leads to elevated blood pressure and liver disease, as well as the occurrence of addiction, which can have dangerous consequences for your body.
Most people get UTI because of bacteria coming from their gut to their genitals and then to their bladder.
This is basically because their gut flora (the good bacteria residing in the gut) is getting dominated by the bad bacteria invading their gut.
A very good way to prevent this scenario is to take probiotic supplements like physician’s choice 60 billion probiotics formula which will replenish your gut store of probiotics and probiotics, in turn, will kill any foreign bacteria invading your gut.
It’s okay to drink beer while you are taking probiotics because they contain little amount of alcohol.
Side effects and interactions of beer
Beer due to alcohol content interacts with Cotrimoxazole and Cefotane drugs used to treat the urinary infection. Avoid drinking alcohol while taking these medicines.
Alcohol enhances the action of benzodiazepines (Valium, Lexotanil), benzodiazepines cause a retaining of the urine which adversely affects the UTI. Avoid drinking alcohol with these drugs.
Erythromycin and doxycycline used in the treatment of urinary infection have a reduced effect when used together with alcohol. You should not use them while you drink any type of alcoholic beverage.
Caution should be exercised when taking pain medicines such as Advil, Naproxen (often used in UTI) with alcohol because they can harm your body.
Alcohol can exacerbate the effects of caffeine and therefore worsen UTI. So it’s better to drink in this case decaf coffee.
Alcohol enhances the effect of nicotine, which is one of the known substances that weakens immunity, that people who consume cigarettes and alcohol and have UTI can exacerbate their underlying disease.
Beer is often served with lemon. This can be beneficial for UTI because vitamin C from lemon positively affects urinary infections.
Summing-up
1. Beer is safe, useful and healthy for people suffering from UTI.
2. Beer contains a large amount of water and is essentially an acidic medium, which is immensely good for UTI.
3. It is very important to note that beer is healthy only if it is drunk in moderate quantities.
Here’s the end of this very interesting article. Thank you for your patience to read this very interesting topic.
I’m sure reading this text was very impressive, as well as for me while I was researching. Thanks for your attention and cheers.