in this article, we are going to discuss banana and it’s effects on the human body especially when someone has a UTI(urinary tract infection).
banana is considered a rich source of potassium and vitamin b-6 it also contains vitamin c, sugars, carbohydrates, and magnesium.
in this article, we are going to discuss the effects of each of these ingredients on UTI and then we are going to come up with an overall conclusion on whether bananas are good for your uti condition or not and how much of it is good and how much is too much.
Bananas contain a lot of potassium it’s one of the richest sources in nature of potassium which is a key element for the human body.
potassium known by the symbol (k) plays a major role in regulating the heartbeats and contributes to bone strength and a body low with potassium can have fatigue and weakness not just that potassium also decreases the probability of kidney stone formation which is one of the underlying causes of urinary tract infection.
so in this case, banana is beneficial for the uti but, potassium is not the only compound that banana contains.
by the way, if you think that you need potassium or your body is low on potassium you should add this potassium supplement to a potassium-rich diet.
ps: potassium-rich diet includes eating a lot of salad and off course banana.
back to our subject, banana also contains a high amount of sugars and carbohydrates ( which is turned into sugars by the body by the time it reaches the kidney) sugars increase the susceptibility of the body to infections including the urinary tract infections because in a simple manner the bacteria feed on them.
I’m not saying that every amount of sugar that you eat is gonna be fed to the bacteria (most likely a bacteria called E.coli in the case of uti) but rather when you eat high amounts it would.
so, that should be considered because sometimes I see some diets on the internet that say you must eat 6 whole bananas a day “to treat your uti” or eating 6 bananas a day for a week or a month or so is a healthy choice. and I don’t think that is good advice seriously.
banana is also a rich source of vitamin b-6.
in fact, vitamin b-6 constitutes 20% of a banana, vitamin b-6 supports the immune system by decreasing the transcription of glucocorticoids (the process of making glucocorticoids).
these glucocorticoids are steroids that play a role in reducing some of the aspects of the immune function. so, by decreasing the amounts of glucocorticoids in the body the immune system can function well and can fight the bacteria that causes the urinary tract infection a little bit harder.
vitamin b-6 also supports the immune system in another way, according to Shamala Pulugurtha a medical microbiologist “Vitamin B6 is another water-soluble vitamin that helps the immune system produce proteins known as antibodies to fight the pathogens responsible for urinary tract and other infections.”
vitamin b-6 has another benefit that can indirectly improve your UTI condition which is its role in glucose metabolism.
vitamin b-6 side effects include neurological problems of which The primary symptoms are pain and numbness of the extremities, all of these side effects are noticed with vitamin b-6 supplements when someone takes more than the daily body’s requirement of this vitamin but, never been noticed with food sources.
in general, vitamin b-6 is good for the urinary tract infections.
Banana also contains vitamin c
Vitamin c is a water-soluble vitamin which means it is found in the urine.
the significance of this is that it makes the urine more acidic, what does making the urine more acidic do to the bacteria?
Well, first of all, the bacteria need a basic medium to grow, making the urine more acidic will aid in killing the bacteria or getting rid of it.
Also, there is this indirect benefit to vitamin c on the UTI which is according to some researches vitamin c helps the immune system fight against the bacteria because it enters the immune cells in high amounts, and helps increase the immune cells numbers by promoting its proliferation.
So, vitamin c plays a major role in helping the immune system and this has been confirmed scientifically.
Helping the immune system means that it can fight better against the bacteria that causes your UTI condition which leads to improving your condition.
Also, vitamin C has a lot of other benefits to the body (note: in these benefits, it is advised to maintain a healthy dietary intake this is more important than taking vitamin c supplementation) like preventing common colds, Some researches suggest that it has a role in preventing cancer, and other researches suggest that it has a role in reducing the risk of Alzheimer disease.
Side effects of taking a large dose of vitamin c include: indigestion (especially when taken on an empty stomach), nausea, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea (note: all of these side effects are noticed from taking a large dose of vitamin c which is more than three grams.)
in general, vitamin c is good for the UTI and this gives more points to the bananas.
Magnesium is also found in the banana and it’s a mineral that the body needs.
so, keeping your magnesium level is a good thing for your overall health but, there is no direct benefit in magnesium on the urinary tract infections although some specialists say that it has a good effect on treating kidney diseases.
In the overall sense, banana contains compounds that are good for the urinary tract infections which can, directly and indirectly, improve uti (potassium, vitamin b-6, vitamin c) and some compounds that can worsen it (sugars and carbohydrates) you can’t really tell if the harm of these sugars and carbohydrates is bigger than the benefits of the potassium and vitamin b-6 and vitamin c or if taking a banana for someone is the same for others.
maybe someone has diabetes and UTI and he eats 2 or 3 bananas that may not be good for him or if someone Has vitamin c deficiency and UTI so taking 2 or 3 bananas may be a good choice for him.
so, it differs depending on the case and the person. but in general, taking bananas in moderation is the best choice going crazy and eating 4, 5,6 bananas are not advisable I suggest that eating one banana a day can be the best choice for a person who has uti whether it’s acute uti (happens for a short period of time then it goes away) or recurrent uti which keeps coming back.
what about banana stem?
is the juice extracted from the banana stem good for uti?
well, yes to some extent.
according to the author daiwik the banana stem act as a diuretic so the best advice is to take it with a lot of water so that it washes your urinary tract from the bacteria and kidney stones also.
Daiwik says that it also has a healing effect on gallstones.
you should consume at least 1/4 cup of banana stem extracted juice a day that’s according to the search herbal remedy website.
but I don’t think that banana stem is “the thing” on curing the urinary tract infection, so you should not have high expectations of it curing the urinary tract infection but it’s a good thing to try.
so, banana is good for uti and it’s best taken in moderate amounts.