The Bladder and Food Irritants | Pacifica Compounding Pharmacy

You may know the dreaded feeling – the sudden need to head to the bathroom often and quickly. The truth is for many — bladder sensitivity and even pain are not uncommon.

Two things may be going on causing bladder irritation —

Cystitis is an inflammation of the bladder. In most cases, the cause of cystitis is a urinary tract infection (UTI) but not always. Certain foods, drinks, medications, and even hygiene products can also cause inflammation.

Interstitial Cystitis is a condition that affects between 3 million and 8 million women and between 1 million and 4 million men in the United States and it is a more acute, long-term issue. (1) (2)

Both conditions cause the bladder to be irritated leading to a persistent need to urinate more often than normal, an urgency of needing to urinate even after you have emptied your bladder, bladder spasms, and even bladder pain.

Diet and Your Bladder

One way to soothe bladder pain and control symptoms is through your diet. Eliminating irritating foods and eating soothing foods should help so to avoid that uncomfortable feeling of pain or urgency, you may first want to avoid these three main ones:

Caffeine is a powerful substance that can increase bladder activity. It is naturally present in coffee beans, tea leaves, and cocoa beans. Drinking sodas, coffee, tea, eating foods, or consuming over-the-counter medications that contain caffeine may result in urgency, frequency, and/or incontinence. (3)

Alcohol has also been shown clinically to act as a bladder stimulant, triggering symptoms of urgency. In addition, it acts as a diuretic and may induce a greater frequency of urination especially in women. (4)

Artificial sweeteners (sodium saccharin, acesulfame K, and to a lesser degree aspartame) have been shown in limited studies to negatively affect bladder function. In research, episodes of the frequency of urination and urgency were all increased with the consumption of beverages containing artificial sweeteners.

Also on the list:

Fruits – grapefruit, lemon, orange, and pineapple
Fruit juices – cranberry, grapefruit, orange, and pineapple
Tomato products
Hot peppers
Spicy foods (including cuisines like Mexican, Thai, and Indian)
Chili
Horseradish
Vinegar
MSG
Artificial sweeteners such as NutraSweet, Sweet ‘N Low, Equal, and Saccharin

Certain foods and drinks won’t irritate your bladder as long as they aren’t combined with acidic or spicy foods and can ease symptoms including:

Water
Low-fat or whole milk
Bananas
Blueberries
Fruits such as honeydew melon, pears, raisins, watermelon, and cucumber
Vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, mushrooms, peas, radishes, squash, and zucchini
White potatoes and sweet potatoes/yams
Meat such as chicken, turkey, beef, pork, and lamb
Eggs
Seafood such as shrimp, tuna fish, and salmon
Oats

Also important —

Magnesium

Foods that are rich in magnesium are known to be effective. Magnesium is helping in improving nerve function, reducing bladder muscle spasms.

Less Sugar

Along with coffee, sugar can be a bladder irritation culprit. Sugar can increase the frequency and urge to urinate and you’re more likely to get UTIs and/or cystitis if you have diabetes, a condition where the level of sugar in your body becomes too high. (5)

Also an issue — being overweight. Having excess belly fat increases the risk of urinary incontinence due to a weakening of the pelvic floor muscles which can lead to leaking when coughing, laughing, sneezing, etc. In some cases, simply losing weight can improve incontinence. (6) (7)

So when it comes to easing the stress of bladder issues, it is important to consider lifestyle changes overall. While they are physical, a holistic approach to relief is more often found in addressing psychological issues as well. (8)