Which food and drink products can make incontinence worse?

If you have incontinence, you will know there are some food or drink products which can definitely act as an irritant to your bladder or bowel, and make your incontinence worse than normal. This month’s blog aims to help identify some of the main triggers, so you can consider how they impact your condition, with suggestions of alternative options should you decide to reduce or remove them from your diet.

Caffeine

This is one the most common bladder irritants because caffeine works as a diuretic: it reduces water reabsorption when it passes to the kidneys, making the kidneys excrete a heavy amount of water, making you ‘go’ more often – and with greater urgency. Even cutting back a little on your caffeine intake can really help. So try and limit your intake to one caffeinated drink a day to see an improvement, or switch to low or no caffeine tea or coffee. And remember caffeine can also be found in cola drinks, cocoa and chocolate products as well.

Salty foods

Crisps, salted nuts, and other salty foods can also cause the body to retain water, which eventually goes to the bladder. Plus, the salt makes you thirstier, so you’re likely to drink more liquids – the combined effect being you are going to make more frequent trips to the loo. Luckily there are plenty of low or no salt options you can choose to cut down your salt intake.

Alcohol

Alcohol is another diuretic; just one alcoholic drink increases the production of urine and means you need to go more often and more urgently. Try to limit your alcohol intake to just one glass or, as alcohol consumption causes the brain to send impaired signals to the rest of the body, confusing you as to when you need to go, you might consider eliminating it completely.

Fizzy drinks

Anything that’s fizzy can irritate the bladder (even fizzy water) because these drinks contain dissolved carbon dioxide, resulting in an acidic solution which can irritate the bladder. And since many fizzy drinks also contain artificial sweeteners, they are a doubly bad combination for anyone with incontinence. Limit them to occasional treats and/or replace them with water or squash.

Spicy foods

Most of us would guess that spices can irritate the bladder and stomach, but everyone has a different tolerance level – so find out what works for you. If spice is a definite trigger, experiment with milder alternatives or you could eliminate spices and replace them with herbs and other natural flavourings.

Citrus food.. (and tomatoes!)

As mentioned earlier, anything that results in an acidic solution is likely to have a negative effect on your bladder. So be on the lookout for lemons, limes, oranges, pineapple and grapefruits, as well as the humble tomato (in all its forms!). There are many less acidic alternatives – apples, pears and blueberries, for example, will be a lot kinder on your bladder.

Dairy

Many people find the lactose in dairy difficult to process, and the main offenders tend to be milk, cheese and ice cream, but their impact will vary from person to person. As an alternative, you can find many dairy products which are lactose-free, and there are also plenty of completely dairy-free alternatives widely available for you to try.

Processed food

The artificial ingredients in processed foods can be difficult for our bodies to break down. Certain artificial flavours, preservatives and additives can irritate the bladder and definitely worsen incontinence symptoms. It’s a good idea anyway to limit the amount of processed food in your diet – but it can be harder than you first think. Doing more cooking from scratch, using non-citrus fruit, vegetables and whole grains is the easiest way to avoid all those ‘extras’ which are regularly in processed food.

What next?

Sometimes it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly which food and drink it is that makes your incontinence worse, so one idea is to keep a food diary of what you eat and drink, and how this impacts you. Then you can try eliminating products, one at a time, and see if you experience any improvement. You may find that simply cutting back on certain foods and drink helps. As well as taking on board some of our tips here, the best advice we have to offer is that you should aim to eat a healthy, balanced diet that’s filled with plenty of leafy greens, vegetables, non-citrus fruits, proteins, healthy fats and whole grains. Try and drink water consistently throughout the day in small amounts, which lessens the impact on your urinary system. Many people find that drinking more fluids early in the morning and reducing consumption as the day goes on helps for a more comfortable night. And remember, you also will get fluid intake in other forms, such as fruits, vegetables, and soups.

Have you got a top tip you’d like to share? Let us know! If you’d like some one-to-one advice on the best products to manage your condition, do drop us a line at info@arelle.com or give us a call at 0800 389 3597.