Solaray D-Mannose with CranActin

Product Description: 1,000 mg of D-Mannose combined with 400 mg of CranActin Cranberry AF extract in two vegetarian capsules is intended to provide nutritive support for a healthy urinary tract.

Background Information: There are three types of sugarspolysaccharides (three or more molecules of saccharide or sugar such as starches and fiber), disaccharides (two molecules such as: one molecule of glucose + one molecule of fructose = sucrose) and monosaccharides (one molecule), which are the simplest forms of sugar that cannot be broken down into even smaller particles.

Two of its members are D-mannose and D-glucose. D-mannose, or simply, mannose, shares a similar structure but a different arrangement with glucose, a phenomenon called stereoisomerism. Unlike glucose, which is absorbed eight times faster than mannose and either quickly used for energy or stored as glycogen in the liver, mannose is absorbed slowly through the upper part of the intestine, not readily converted to glycogen, and travels through the bloodstream to the kidneys virtually unchanged. From there it is carried down to the bladder and is excreted with the urine. Urinary tract infections (UTI) are caused by invading bacteria and are 10 times more common in women than in men.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a bacteria that is part of the normal bacterial flora that populates the digestive tract. Most UTI occur when E. coli travels from the anus to the bladder and urinary tract where it doesnt belong. E. coli cells are covered with tiny hair-like fimbriae tipped with an amino-acid sugar called a lectin that allows the bacteria to attach to saccharide receptors that dot the surface of the smooth muscle walls of the bladder and ureters. Once the bacteria attach, they can multiply causing inflammation and swelling, which can lead to a urinary tract infection.