Your diet impacts your body in many ways, and it can even impact the health of your bladder. If you have an overactive bladder and you feel like you constantly have to urinate, it may be time to look at your eating habits and make a few changes.
Sometimes, a simple adjustment to your diet will improve your symptoms significantly. Inland Empire patients who suffer from an overactive bladder should talk with their urologist about lifestyle changes that they can make in order to improve their symptoms and minimize their discomfort.
How Can I Improve My Overactive Bladder by Changing my Diet?
Increase your fiber intake. You may think that fiber will help only with constipation, but it can actually improve the health of your bladder. It is recommended that people get about 21 to 26 grams of fiber each day, but most people will only take in about 15 grams of fiber.
Increasing your fiber will improve constipation symptoms, which can relieve pressure from your bladder. Fiber-rich foods to consider adding to your diet include brown rice, oatmeal, apples and carrots.
Try to minimize the amount of coffee and alcohol that you drink, and instead hydrate yourself with fresh water. Caffeine and alcohol can increase the amount of urine that your body makes, which will only aggravate the symptoms associated with an overactive bladder.
If you feel like you are constantly heading to the bathroom because you have the urge to urinate, try to eliminate coffee for one week and see if you notice a change. Then, spend the next week eliminating alcohol. You may find that your symptoms improve significantly, and you also might be surprised at how much more refreshed you feel when you enjoy a glass of water.
Make a few swaps in your daily diet and you will notice significant changes. You don’t always have to give things up entirely in order to see a positive change in your symptoms. Swap your coffee out for herbal tea in order to enjoy an added boost of health benefits and a smaller dose of caffeine.
Cut out citrus fruits, but don’t give up the sweet treat of fresh fruit entirely. Instead, enjoy blueberries or pears with your meals. Stop using artificial sweeteners and instead use natural sugar in order to sweeten up your drinks and your favorite slices of fruit.
