Nonacidic foods with healthy monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, flaxseed and avocados are quite soothing to the bladder.
What foods calm the bladder? The American Urological Association also recognizes some foods as potentially having a calming effect on sensitive bladders. These foods include pears, bananas, green beans, squash, potatoes, lean proteins, whole grains, nuts, bread, and eggs.
Bananas and other high-fiber foods can be good for urinary tract health and preventing urinary tract infections (UTIs) by encouraging regular bowel movements and relieving pressure on urine flow.
But it's still best to take a trial-and-error approach one veggie or fruit at a time, if you're experiencing bladder irritation. Lower acid fruit options include blueberries, strawberries, pears and honeydew melon. And some vegetables can even sooth an irritated bladder.
Water is the best drink of choice to keep your bladder pain under control. It will also provide other benefits such as healthy skin, increased energy, reduced toxin levels, and a boosted metabolism. You'll want to stay away from acidic, caffeinated, or alcoholic beverages such as fruit juice, coffee, beer, and soda.
Coffee, soda, alcohol, tomatoes, hot and spicy foods, chocolate, caffeinated beverages, citrus juices and drinks, MSG, and high-acid foods can trigger IC symptoms or make them worse.
Pelvic floor exercises, also known as Kegel exercises, help hold urine in the bladder. Daily exercises can strengthen these muscles, which can help keep urine from leaking when you sneeze, cough, lift, laugh, or have a sudden urge to urinate.
The bladder is a master at self-repair. When damaged by infection or injury, the organ can mend itself quickly, calling upon specialized cells in its lining to repair tissue and restore a barrier against harmful materials concentrated in urine.
Overactive bladder is a collection of symptoms that may affect how often you pee and your urgency. Causes include abdominal trauma, infection, nerve damage, medications and certain fluids. Treatment includes changing certain behaviors, medications and nerve stimulation.
Blueberries may be functional foods that inhibit the progress of bladder remodeling and prevent the development of bladder dysfunction in obstructed bladder.
Tomatoes – The acidity in tomatoes may irritate your bladder. Foods that contain tomatoes, such as pasta or pizza sauce, ketchup and salsa, may also affect symptoms. Citrus fruits – Foods like oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes are also acidic and can affect bladder control.
Moreover, low magnesium concentrations can lead to bladder spasm and urinary frequency. High extracellular magnesium concentrations reduced the magnitude of the electrically-induced phasic contractions, as well as spontaneous contractions of the human detrusor smooth muscle in vitro.
Foods that irritate the bladder include:
Caffeine – coffee, tea, cola and chocolate can increase bladder activity and act as a diuretic. A diuretic is something that increases the amount of urine you pass.
Dairy: Milk, yogurt, ice cream, and cheese may make overactive bladder symptoms worse in some people. Artificial sweeteners: Preliminary research suggests they may negatively affect bladder function.
Dairy products are known as bladder irritants. Those that can be especially bad are aged dairy products like aged cheese and sour cream. If you like dairy products, then you could try alternatives made from soy or almond milk.
Acidic Fruits: Tomatoes, oranges, strawberries – all of these fruits have some degree of acidity associated with them. As such, they cause irritation to the bladder liner and urinary tract, which leads to more frequent urination.
Weak or damaged pelvic floor muscles can cause urinary incontinence, so exercising these muscles is often recommended. A GP may refer you to a specialist to start a programme of pelvic floor muscle training. The specialist will assess whether you're able to squeeze (contract) your pelvic floor muscles and by how much.
Changes with age reduce how much your bladder can hold and increase the chances of involuntary urine release. Being overweight. Extra weight increases pressure on your bladder and surrounding muscles, which weakens them and allows urine to leak out when you cough or sneeze. Smoking.