INHIBITION OF GROWTH OF PROTEUS-MIRABILIS AND ESCHERICHIA-COLI IN URINE IN RESPONSE TO FASTING AND VEGETARIAN DIET

It has recently been shown that serum antibody levels against Proteus mirabilis decreased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who improved clinically during treatment with 7-10 days of fasting followed by a o ne-year vegetarian diet. As P. mirabilis is commonly implicated in uri nary tract infections, this study was carried out to examine whether f asting and vegetarian diet may influence the growth of P. mirabilis an d Escherichia coli in urine. Urine samples were collected from 22 pati ents who were referred to a health farm for various reasons. The dieta ry regimen recommended by the health farm consisted of fasting for 7 t o 10 days followed by a vegan diet. The growth of both bacteria in uri ne samples collected after 8 days was significantly slower than in sam ples collected at baseline. In urine samples collected after 18 days g rowth was also reduced, although not significantly for E. coli. Our re sults show that dietary manipulation may reduce the ability of urine t o support the growth of P. mirabilis and E. coli.