Oatmeal is mainly grown in North America and Europe and is produced in the form of whole grains.
Oatmeal is most often eaten in the morning for a light start to the day, which acts on our body as an energy bomb that gives us excess strength for the day. Oatmeal can be combined with literally any natural food.
Oatmeal is very nutritious, has numerous health benefits, and in addition is extremely affordable for everyone’s pocket, so it could be on the menu with a large number of people.
In this article, we will see how oatmeal affects patients with a urinary tract infection and whether it is good for UTI patients to have it on their menu every day or not.
If you are looking for a short answer, then, yes, oatmeal is very good for UTI, and you will see why.
Nutritional components of oatmeal
Oatmeal has a well-balanced nutritional composition. It is extremely healthy and energy-rich food. Oatmeal is a good source of carbohydrates and quality protein with a good amino acid balance.
In addition, oatmeal contains a high percentage of oat lipids, especially unsaturated fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, phytochemicals, and dietary fiber. Oatmeal has low calories and high fiber which can help remove harmful bacteria from your body. They also play an important role in normal bowel emptying, so the pressure on the bladder is reduced, which has a beneficial effect on UTI.
In terms of nutritional composition, only 100 grams of oatmeal has the following components:
Carbohydrates: 69 grams (most of which are fiber);
Fat: 54.6 grams;
Protein: 13 grams;
Starch: 58 grams;
Sugar: 1 gram.
Vitamins and minerals
Only 100 grams of oatmeal contains the following essential minerals and vitamins:
Phosphorus: 410 milligrams;
Potassium: 362 milligrams;
Magnesium: 138 milligrams;
Calcium: 52 milligrams;
Iron: 4.3 milligrams;
Zinc: 3.6 milligrams;
Manganese: 3.5 milligrams;
Niacin (Vitamin B3): 1.1 milligrams;
Thiamine (Vitamin B1): 0.5 milligrams;
Copper: 0.4 milligrams;
Vitamin E: 0.4 milligrams;
Riboflavin: 0.2 milligrams;
Vitamin B6: 0.1 milligrams.
Let’s see how and if each of these oatmeal components affects the UTI.
Phosphorus found in oatmeal is very important for kidney health. It maintains the balance of all fluids and allows our body to be toxin-free. This has an extremely beneficial effect on UTI.
Vitamin E is the main antioxidant that completely protects all cells of the body from damage by reducing the number of prostaglandins (these are substances that cause inflammation in our body), and of course, their amount increases in UTI inflammatory processes.
Vitamin E has been shown by some studies to reduce and improve clinical symptoms in the acute phase of urinary tract infection.
Antioxidants as we know are extremely important for boosting immunity, so vitamin E as a powerful oxidant can be very beneficial for boosting immune health and thus indirectly help improve UTI.
The vitamin B complex is necessary for the normal functioning of nerve cells, muscle cells, and heart muscle cells. They release energy from sugar. It has been proven that the complex of B vitamins strengthens the immune system, reduces stress, and it also strengthens the urinary tract, ie it has a beneficial effect on UTI.
We have vitamins B2, B3, and B6 in oatmeal. For vitamin B-6, there is no evidence that it could have a beneficial effect on UTI.
It is important to note that vitamin B3 has a role in preventing the development of type 2 diabetes. We know how prone diabetics are to urinary tract infections due to a drop in immunity.
Research (page 138) showed that the combination of vitamin B3 and vitamin E can reduce high blood sugar levels. This is extremely important for UTI because it reduces the symptoms of UTI, and does not make UTI worse. On the other hand, high doses of vitamin B3 can abruptly increase blood sugar levels, and thus UTI, since they are in a direct relationship.
Vitamin B2 reduces inflammation in the body, increases energy in the body, and is used to treat anemia. It has no direct connection with UTI, but strengthening the immune system can indirectly have a beneficial effect on UTI.
Researchers have shown that moderate potassium intake can help reduce water retention by increasing urine production and lowering sodium levels. This has a beneficial effect on UTI. So, we can freely say that potassium is extremely good for UTI.
Potassium is important because it prevents the formation of kidney stones. Potassium lowers calcium in the urine, and calcium is one of the components of kidney stones. By helping to prevent the formation of kidney stones, potassium also prevents the formation or worsening of urinary tract infections.
Manganese, which removes sugar from the blood by affecting the production of insulin. In this way, manganese has a good effect on UTI because elevated blood sugar levels harm UTI.
Calcium allows kidney stones to form, which can worsen UTIs because kidney stones retain bacteria that worsen UTIs. This mainly refers to calcium that is excessively consumed through supplements. Intake of calcium through oatmeal cannot lead to worsening of the underlying disease, not even UTI.
Zinc is an essential mineral that is very important because it strengthens the body’s immunity and resistance, thus reducing the possibility of infection. It is also a very strong antioxidant.
Antioxidants (Avenanthramides from oatmeal) are very effective because they neutralize reactive compounds called free radicals. This has a beneficial effect on UTI because it increases the body’s resistance to germs.
Consuming oatmeal can affect the reduction of body mass index, it would further mean that obese people can reduce their body weight. Fat is a major cause of obesity, and obesity increases the risk of diabetes and generally has a very bad effect on UTIs.
Obesity is one of the risk factors for developing urinary incontinence (urinary retention) which worsens UTI.
Is oatmeal with all of its components good for UTI in general and why?
This food prevents fluid retention, which helps in the recovery of urinary tract infections because it does not allow bacteria to accumulate in the body, and it also affects intestinal transit, which prevents other problems.
Consumption of oatmeal in 4-8 weeks leads to a decrease in blood sugar before meals, 24-hour blood sugar, and insulin levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Eating 50-100 grams of oatmeal reduces blood sugar levels after meals in some people.
In the long run, consuming 100 grams of oats instead of other carbohydrates has the longest-lasting effect on blood glucose. This can indirectly have a beneficial effect on UTI because high blood sugar levels worsen UTI.
In general, oatmeal is extremely good for patients with UTI. It would be good to have it on the daily menu, especially for breakfast in combination with fruit that is rich in vitamin C, blueberries, and cinnamon.
Mix with some probiotic drinks (yogurt, almond milk for example), then the effect on UTI would be remarkable. This could even be said to be a prevention for UTI. These powerful ingredients individually work extremely well on UTI, and in combination with oatmeal, they represent a complete hit.
Because oatmeal is extremely good for our health, we should eat whole oats with at least 3.6 grams of soluble fiber during the day. It is best to consult a doctor about this to find out which dose might be best for your individual case of UTI.
Oatmeal does not interact with drugs. It also means that people who have urinary tract infections and who have been prescribed therapy by a doctor are free to eat oats without any fear that it will interfere with the medications they take for urinary tract infections.
The overall effect is that oatmeal has a positive impact on UTI sufferers.
Are there any situations where it is bad to use oatmeal for UTI patients?
There are several reasons why we should avoid oatmeal. First of all, if we have an allergy to oats, and at the same time have a UTI, we should not use oatmeal as a prevention of UTI.
If you are a patient with urinary tract infections, and at the same time you are avoiding gluten, it is necessary to avoid oatmeal because cross-contamination with gluten-containing products can occur during processing.
In this situation, it is best to choose a box of oatmeal with a label that indicates that it’s pure oat or that it does not contain gluten.
Of course, if we consume too much oatmeal, there will be an increase in body weight with the fact that they have a slightly higher concentration of carbohydrates, although most of these carbohydrates come in the form of healthy fiber, which can negatively affect UTI.
But moderate consumption of oatmeal has a beneficial effect on UTI, it has all the benefits for this condition.
If you do not like the taste of oats, of course, then you should avoid it.
In all other situations, patients with UTI are free to consume oatmeal and combine it with other foods that benefit the urinary tract and that will help prevent urinary tract infections and improve UTI.
The key is in the dosing.
How much oatmeal is enough for UTI patients or for people who want to prevent UTI?
To lower the blood sugar level in patients with type 2 diabetes, foods rich in fiber are used daily, such as products made from whole oats, which contain up to 25 grams of soluble fiber. 38 grams of oat bran or 75 grams of dry oatmeal contains about 3 grams of beta-glucan.
This dose could be a measure of how much oatmeal we should consume daily when we have a UTI. since this amount is good for lowering blood sugar levels, it would also be good for UTIs as diabetes and elevated insulin levels are one of the main causes of UTI.
Here are some great oatmeal recipies.
Should oatmeal be used to prevent UTI?
Yes, oatmeal should be used to prevent UTI because oatmeal is a high-fiber food. Foods that are high in fiber can help remove harmful bacteria from your body. This further strengthens our immune system and of course has a beneficial effect on UTI and can prevent UTI.
Is oatmeal good for kidney infection and why?
Oatmeal is higher in potassium and phosphorus but can still be part of a healthy kidney diet. A 1/2 cup serving of cooked oatmeal has 80-115 mg potassium and 90-130 mg phosphorus.
Potassium is good because it prevents and reduces the incidence of kidney stones formation. If there are fewer kidney stones or none at all, there will be no UTI or kidney infection, as having a urinary tract blockage is one of the major risk factors for kidney infection.
On the other hand, phosphorus is important because it prevents the accumulation of toxins in the body and is important for preventing the occurrence of infection in the kidneys.
Do you recommend quaker oats for UTI?
Yes, I recommend these Quaker Oats for UTI in combination with other food that benefits UTI, especially fruits with probiotic milk products.