DMannose occurs naturally in the cells lining the epithelial tract. Although small amounts of DMannose are metabolised by the human body, much of it is rapidly excreted in the urine.

When someone with UTI consumes a dose of DMannose, the sugar is absorbed in the upper gastrointestinal tract, but at a much slower rate than most other sugars. Additionally, unlike other sugars, DMannose is not readily converted to glycogen (and stored) in the liver, but passes directly into the bloodstream largely unchanged.

DMannose does not kill any bacteria - friendly or unfriendly. Instead, it acts as a kind of magnet in the urinary tract, adhering itself to undesirable foreign substances such as E.coli bacteria and preventing them from attaching to the lining of the bladder.

As the DMannose-laden blood passes through the kidneys, a considerable proportion of the sugar is extracted and added to the urine. The DMannose-sweetened urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the bladder and on to the urethra, literally sugar-coating any free-floating E.coli it might encounter and preventing them from attaching to any cells. It also dislodges any bacteria which already attached to the inner surface of the bladder and urinary tract, ultimately flushing them all down the toilet.