Recurrent bladder infections are a problem for many people. While some physicians will prescribe antibiotics to keep infections from recurring, overuse of antibiotics is bad for gut health.

SOURCE: By BruceBlaus - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44756534

D-mannose is frequently recommended by nutritionally oriented practitioners, both to treat and to prevent bladder infections. D-mannose is absorbed but not used by the body; it is excreted in the urine. It competes for the binding sites bacteria use to attach inside the bladder to cause an infection, in effect knocking the bacteria loose so they can be flushed out.

A 2020 meta-analysis of studies on D-mannose for the prevention of recurrent bladder infections indicated that D-mannose was probably as effective as antibiotics, but without the side effects. It is encouraging to see data supporting what many practitioners have observed in their practice: D-mannose can help.