Incontinence Caused by Diet

A grandfather eating with his grand daughter

Your diet can play a major role when you are dealing with urinary incontinence; certain foods and beverages are known to both irritate the bladder and worsen urinary incontinence symptoms. In many cases, incontinence caused by diet can be prevented by changing some of your food and drink choices.

Diet Incontinence: Causes and Symptoms

Diet-related incontinence is caused directly by the food you eat and the beverages you drink. If you’re concerned that your urinary incontinence is being caused by your diet, it’s important that you discuss your situation with your doctor. Urinary incontinence symptoms include accidental leakage, the inability to get to the restroom in time, difficulty urinating or only passing small amounts at a time, and feeling like your bladder isn’t empty after you go.

On the other hand, if your bladder is healthy, you should be urinating between four to six times each day, once or not at all overnight, and not having any issues with leakage in between.

Treatment and Management of Diet Incontinence

It’s important to treat diet incontinence by cutting out the foods and beverages that can worsen your condition. The types of foods and drinks doctors recommend eliminating from your diet include:

  • Acidic Foods: Foods high in acidity, like tomatoes, citrus fruit and even onions are known to irritate the bladder and worsen urinary incontinence.
  • Spicy Foods: Reducing your intake of foods that contain chilli pepper or cayenne pepper can help reduce urinary incontinence symptoms.
  • Alcohol: Alcohol is a known diuretic, causing you to produce more urine and irritate the bladder.
  • Caffeinated Beverages: Like alcohol, caffeine is also a known diuretic. You’ll want to avoid that morning cup of coffee or tea- even decaf can cause problems for those with urinary incontinence.
  • Chocolate: This might be a difficult one for those of you with a sweet tooth, but unfortunately, all types of chocolate need to be cut from your diet as they also contain caffeine.
  • Carbonated Beverages: Both the caffeine and the carbonation in those fizzy drinks won’t do your bladder any favors. Carbonated drinks have been shown to worsen incontinence symptoms, so it’s best to avoid them as much as possible.
  • Sugar and artificial sweeteners: Sugary foods can upset your bladder, regardless of whether they contain real sugar, artificial sweeteners, honey, corn syrup, etc. Limit the number of sugary treats in your diet.

A healthy, well-balanced diet is key to treating and managing urinary incontinence. To manage incontinence, it is important to make sure you get the right balance of fluids every day; cutting back on the amount of water you drink to try to manage your incontinence can lead to dehydration, and kidney stones and can worsen your symptoms.

As you get your incontinence caused by diet under control, Men’s Liberty can help! Our alternative to a typical external catheter is discreet and comfortable and will eliminate your need for diapers or pads to manage your symptoms.

At Men’s Liberty™, we understand the importance of your comfort and privacy. Our product design keeps everything discreet, so you can feel confident and maintain your dignity. Our team of trained professionals is ready to answer any questions you may have. Don’t let urinary incontinence hold you back from enjoying life to the fullest. Try Men’s Liberty™ and experience the freedom and confidence you deserve call us today at 866-217-2301