According to the Department of Health and Human Services, approximately one in five women gets recurring UTIs throughout her lifetime. If you're one of those lucky ladies, you've probably heard your doctor tell you many times that UTIs are caused by E. coli from your gastrointestinal tract.
A recent study from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, suggests that the cause of frequent UTIs might not be your predilection for novelty Hot Topic thongs, but your weekly Chik-Fil-A habit. CDC researchers have found that the strain of E.coli found in nearly eighty-five percent of urinary tract infections matches the bacteria found in chicken, thus prompting the medical community to wonder if fowl play is the culprit behind the infections. (Whatever, I make no apologies. Don't tell me you wouldn't have gone there either.)
The study, which was conducted at McGill University, analyzed the E.coli genomes from women who were suffering from UTIs, and compared them to those from various meat sources. They found that the bacteria from the infections was identical to the E.coli bacteria found in chicken. The researchers think the bacteria came from the chicken itself, rather than from anything the chicken was exposed to during the slaughtering or contamination process, so I guess the rule of peeing after sex to avoid infection particularly applies if you're having sex with a chicken as well.
The E.coli found in urinary tract infections has also been linked to the antibiotic-resistant strain found in beef cattle, thus making a pretty strong argument for vegetarianism if you're one of the beleaguered twenty percent. But don't worry, ladies: it's probably okay to still have your Popeye's and eat it too, provided you're drinking lots of fluids, wearing cotton underwear, and taking other precautions against that dreaded, passing-shards-of-glass sensation.
