Urinary tract infections are among the most common complications in the US, sending more than 10.5 million people to the doctor every year.
Patients typically suffer from a constant and urgent need to urinate, a burning sensation when urinating, pelvic pain and fever. In rare cases, the infection can spread to the kidneys and blood, causing the life-threatening complication sepsis.
Most UTIs are caused by the bacteria E.coli, which is typically harmless in the gut, but can cause an infection if it reaches the urinary tract.
Doctors have long warned that not washing hands properly and sex can raise the risk of an infection. Women are especially vulnerable because their urinary tract is closer to the bowels, with estimates suggesting they have a 30-times higher risk than men.
But now, physicians are also warning that diet could raise the risk of the infection.
A growing body of research suggests that eating meat, particularly undercooked pork, chicken, turkey or beef, may raise the risk of suffering from a UTI.
On the other hand, researchers have also found that vegetarians are 18 percent less likely to suffer from the complication than those who eat meat.
Experts say meat may raise the risk of a UTI because it can be contaminated with E.coli which can spread to hands and work surfaces during preparation and then the urinary tract when someone uses the bathroom.
Actress Tanya Roberts, pictured in A View to Kill in 1985, died from a urinary tract infection that led to sepsis. She appeared in Charlie’s Angels alongside other movies
Doctors also warn that eating undercooked meat can lead the gut to be colonized with new strains of E.coli that may raise the risk of an infection.
In 2025, a study published in the journal Clinical Microbiology found that nearly one in five UTIs among 23,483 UTI patients were due to contaminated meat and poultry.
In the study, patients had suffered from the infection after consuming chicken, turkey, pork or beef.
In a separate analysis from 2023, published in One Health, researchers estimated that E.coli from food may account for up to 640,000 UTIs in the US every year.
Conversely, a further study from 2020 published in Scientific Reports that tracked 9,000 Buddhists in Taiwan for nine years, of whom 3,200 were vegetarians, and found that those following a plant-based diet had an 18 percent lower risk of an infection.
The studies were observational, however, and could not definitively prove that following a diet high in meat raised the risk of a UTI.
More studies into this link are underway, however.
Other dietary changes may also help to slash the risk of a UTI, according to previous research.
A 2017 paper by researchers at the University of Michigan found that consuming less coffee, tea and soft drinks, which can irritate the bladder, slashed the risk of an infection.
Shown above is Lauren Carson, 31, from Belfast, UK, who was given just 24 hours to live after she was diagnosed with a UTI that had triggered sepsis
In the study, researchers tracked 35 women with lower urinary tract symptoms, such as an urge to urinate, who consumed about 63 ounces of drinks that could irritate the bowels per day, equivalent to about five cups of coffee or three bottles of Coca-Cola.
In the first three days, when the participants continued as normal, about 3.21 lower urinary tract symptoms were recorded per person. But in the next three, when participants were asked to stop consuming the beverages, 2.8 symptoms were recorded.
Coffees, teas and soft drinks contain caffeine, which can stimulate the bladder muscle and cause more frequent urination, raising the risk of a UTI.
In a rare case of an extreme infection, actress Tanya Roberts, who appeared in Charlie’s Angels, died from a UTI at the age of 71 in 2021.
In August last year, Lauren Carson, 31, from Belfast, UK, was given just 24 hours to live after she was diagnosed with a UTI that had triggered sepsis.
Doctors warn that women going through menopause have a higher risk of infection because their hormonal shifts change the composition of the bacteria in their vagina.
UTIs are commonly treated using antibiotics to clear the infection, with doctors saying symptoms start to clear within a few days of taking the drug.
To prevent repeated infections, doctors recommend drinking plenty of fluids, including water, which can flush the urinary tract more often and remove any bacteria before it starts an infection.
Patients may also be urged to manage constipation by eating more fruits, vegetables, beans, whole-grain bread and other fiber-rich foods.
