Overactive bladder (OAB) where a person loses control over urinary bladder leading to sudden urge to urinate and accidental leakage of urine is caused by several factors.
The causative factors include excessive fluid intake, smoking, and even certain foods.
Regarding foods that irritate bladder or urinary tract may vary in their effect on an overactive bladder from person to person.
So, you should use trial and error to decide the effects of various foods on you personally.
1. Tea and Coffee
Caffeine in tea and coffee is harmful for OAB. It can increase bladder activity and cause worsened symptoms, such as higher urgency, increased continence and frequency of urination.
You can opt for the best professional overactive bladder surgery at PTNS. But reducing or stopping caffeine intake or switching to decaffeinated versions can help you reduce symptoms.
But if you are predominantly sensitive to caffeine, remember that even decaf tea and coffee consists of some caffeine.
2. Carbonated Drinks
OAB symptoms can be aggravated because of the fizz in carbonated drinks. Be careful of beverages like:
- Energy drinks
- Soda water
- Soft drinks
Beverages with both caffeine and carbonation can be troublesome and so can champagne which contains carbonation as well as bladder-stimulating alcohol.
3. Alcoholic Beverages
Together with tea and coffee, you should also limit adult beverages if you are suffering from an overactive bladder. These include:
- Liquor
- Wine
- Beer
Alcohol can cause irritation to bladder and meddle with the signals to your brain that notify it of bladder overflow.
4. Tomato and Its Products
According to studies, tomatoes are acidic and can irritate your bladder and exacerbate OAB symptoms. Even tomato products should be cut out by those who are sensitive. These include:
- Pizza sauce
- Salsa
- Pasta
- Ketchup
5. Spicy Foods
Spicy foods not only burn your lips but irritate your bladder too. Be careful about sauces and spicy peppers. And be extra careful about spicy salsas because it contains even tomatoes.
Here again you should remember that every food affects different people differently. So, before cutting down spicy foods altogether, experiment with them to see which of them affect you and which ones don’t.
6. Lemons, Lime and Oranges
Just like tomatoes, citrus fruits consist of high quantities of citric acid, which can aggravate bladder control. Citrus fruits you should be careful of are:
- Lemons
- Limes
- Oranges
- Grapefruits
However, you should include fruits in your diet to make it healthy; but be careful and try less acidic fruits like bananas and apples.
As reactions of different foods are different on everyone, you should experiment with different fruits to find which ones cause trouble and which ones are good for you.
7. Chocolate
Just like tea and coffee, chocolate also consists of some caffeine. It’s around 1/4th the amount present in a cup of coffee.
You can consider taking dark chocolate which consists of more cocoa or white chocolate which typically doesn’t contain caffeine and might fulfill your desire with a smaller quantity.
8. Processed Foods
Processed foods are not only harmful for your fat and cholesterol profile, but they also worsen OAB symptoms by irritating your bladder.
For better health of your bladder, you should take fresh foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains along with effective overactive bladder medication from My Continence for example.
Experiment with the above foods to see how they affect your OAB symptoms and choose them wisely.
