OAB: What to Drink and When First, make water your preferred beverage. Added ingredients in sodas and energy drinks, and caffeine in coffee, may aggravate an overactive bladder. Staying hydrated is important to overall health.
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.
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.
Cranberry is a good option that may reduce your overactive symptoms. There are also foods to avoid and drinks you should avoid for overactive bladder that may make you pee more.
Bananas, apples, grapes, coconut and watermelon are good options for those with overactive bladder. Vegetables – Leafy greens, like kale, lettuce, cucumber, squash, potatoes, broccoli, carrots, celery and bell peppers. Whole grains, like oats, barley, farro, and quinoa (also a great protein).
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.
Eat Yogurt
But not nearly as many people are aware that probiotics in yogurt could help their urinary systems, too. In fact, yogurt can help fight urinary tract infections, which could also help prevent the development of more serious urinary problems, including bladder cancer.
You should start by eliminating, or at least cutting down, on the top seven irritants: coffee, tea, cola drinks, chocolate, alcohol, artificial sweeteners and cigarettes. You should allow at least two weeks without the food or drink before noticing any change in your bladder control.
Step Three: Peppermint Herbal Tea
You might be surprised to learn that peppermint has been proven in research studies to reduce smooth muscle bowel spasms. We think it has a calming and soothing effect on the bladder as well.
If you have overactive bladder (OAB), more fluid intake typically equals more trips to the bathroom. If those fluids are carbonated, they may aggravate your symptoms even more. Keep in mind that too little fluid intake also isn't ideal.
Limit drinks with caffeine, such as coffee, tea and cola. They can cause you to urinate more.
Try these strategies: Drink plain water when you're thirsty, from four to eight 8-ounce glasses a day. You'll know you're drinking enough if your urine is light yellow or almost colorless. Sip water throughout the day, instead of gulping down a lot at one time.
More often than not, OAB is a chronic condition; it can get better, but it may not ever go away completely. To start with, doctors often recommend exercises such as Kegels to strengthen pelvic floor muscles and give you more control over your urine flow.
A study done on vitamin c intake in 2060 women, aged 30-79 years of age found that high-dose intake of vitamin c and calcium were positively associated with urinary storage or incontinence, whereas vitamin C from foods and beverages were associated with decreased urinary urgency.
Bananas and other high-fiber foods can be good for urinary tract health and preventing urinary tract infections by encouraging regular bowel movements and relieving pressure on urine flow.
The key is to know which foods are more likely to irritate your bladder and which ones are more likely to soothe. In general, you will want to avoid coffee, alcohol, citrus fruits, tomato-based products, artificial sweeteners and spicy foods.
Purpose: Overactive bladder imposes a significant socioeconomic burden on the health care system. It is a commonly held belief that increased fluid intake (8 glasses of water per day) is beneficial for health. However, increased fluid intake exacerbates overactive bladder symptoms.
Signs and Symptoms of Overactive Bladder
Difficulty holding in urine. Frequent urination (often eight times or more within 24 hours) Unintentional loss of urine with urgent need to urinate (urgency incontinence) Waking up more than once or twice at night to urinate (nocturia)
Coffee intake and incontinence subtypes showed no significant associations whereas high tea consumption was specifically associated with a risk for overactive bladder (OR 1.34, 95% CI 11.07-1.67) and nocturia (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.01-1.38).