Best Dietary Tips for a Sensitive Bladder
For anyone with an overactive or sensitive bladder, there are many treatments to consider. But when it comes to day-to-day life, food and drink can make a big difference in your symptoms, comfort, and health. If you feel the need to go more frequently than usual, or to such a degree that it’s uncomfortable and inconvenient, adjusting your food and liquid intake can help.
While a change in diet is not a long-term replacement for medical care, especially if you feel that there’s something wrong, it can help with minor issues. Plus, learning when and how to eat can lead to a more comfortable lifestyle. Read on to learn more about how diet can impact your bladder.
Everyday Beverages
The first place to start, especially if you feel the need to urinate on a more-than-regular basis, is obviously your beverage intake. There are two key elements to consider when trying to tinker with your drinking habits, and those are the type of beverage you drink and the time of day that you drink them.
The first step is to make sure you’re drinking enough water. This might seem like a no-brainer, but Americans are typically terrible at hydration. Many of us don’t fully understand just how much water to drink throughout the day. A good place to start is 64 ounces per day, or eight 8-oz. glasses.
Some recent studies have refuted this, saying it’s best to simply drink when you get thirsty, which is a good rule, but if your body isn’t used to being hydrated, you may not be as thirsty as often. One of the best ways to start to hydrate properly is to purchase a refillable water bottle so you can track the amount throughout the day.
Next, you should make sure to drink more water at the beginning of the day, which helps your metabolism and digestive system wake up and get going, leading to better bladder health. In the late afternoon and evening, it’s a good idea to slow down on your water intake, as being too hydrated before bed can lead to sleepless nights, getting up to use the restroom repeatedly.
Drinks to Avoid
Now that you know the basic facts about staying hydrated – which can immensely help a sensitive bladder – it’s time to talk about drinks other than water. Drinking water is the best way to stay hydrated, but even for water-drinking experts, plain water can get boring. It’s not a crime to want other beverages throughout the day, but you should be aware of the downfalls of certain choices.
For anyone with a sensitive bladder, there are some everyday beverages that can cause discomfort and frequent urination. One of the biggest examples is caffeine, which can lead to more frequent urination, especially if you aren’t hydrated otherwise. So if you like to wake up and have an immediate cup of coffee, it might be a good idea to have a small glass of water as well.
If your bladder has been sensitive lately, you should start to reduce your consumption of caffeinated beverages, acidic fruit juices, and carbonated beverages and sodas. Some artificial sweeteners can also irritate the bladder, so you should talk to your doctor before committing to any new drink. Also, alcohol is known for aggravating the bladder, so be cautious before indulging.
Everyday Foods
Next, we’ll talk about food instead of beverage since you’ve got all the hydration knowledge you need. Food can also be a factor in a sensitive bladder and can aggravate it or cause frequent discomfort just as easily as many beverages.
One of the biggest culprits is acidic foods like citrus fruits like lemons and limes, and tomatoes and their products. If these are a frequent part of your diet, you can start by replacing them with pears or blueberries, which are also high in antioxidants but are not so acidic. If you frequently drink water with lemon juice, try to add a twist instead.
Finally, you can also try cutting back on spices to help improve bladder sensitivity. Many people claim that spicy foods can be disastrous for a sensitive bladder, causing very frequent urination. Cut back on your spices, and see if that helps.
Keep a Diary
If you’re really serious about finding the cause of your sensitive bladder within your diet and what worsens it, try keeping a food diary, and write down any flare-ups in the diary on the days they occur. You can use this data to find correlations between certain foods.
If that’s not working, you can also try removing things one at a time from your diet to see how it impacts your diet.
Visit Your Doctor
Working on your food and beverage intake as well as your overall diet is a great way to attempt to find some more discomfort for anyone with any condition that causes their bladder sensitivity, or simply seeking more regularity.
However, if you’re feeling extreme or long-term discomfort, a change in diet might only be half the battle, and it could be time to visit your urologist. It’s never a bad idea to make sure everything is in good shape, and if not, to create a treatment plan you can count on. If you’re in need of urology care, contact us today. We are happy to schedule an appointment to discuss any needs you might have.
Visit our website or call us today at 405.360.9966.
