Nutrition To Keep An Overactive Bladder Happier...What's For Lunch?

March 15, 2017

Your Bladder and Your Diet

This is part three of our series on eating healthier using diet & nutrition to help combat incontinence issues for men and women. Small but significant diet modifications can be an effective conservative therapy covering most types of urinary incontinence.

Altering your diet won’t cure an overactive bladder or urge incontinence. However, certain foods and drinks can have an impact on your bathroom habits. You can manage some symptoms by restricting certain foods while adding others, to see which foods and drinks affect you, keep a bladder diary where you record fluid intake and overactive bladder symptoms.

First off eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables because they contain the vitamins and minerals you need for good health. And when you’re healthy, your urinary system can function at its best. Also, fresh fruits and vegetables are generally high in fiber but yet low in calories, which helps you maintain a healthy weight which is important for your bladder health, and your overall health. Again, you might need to avoid acidic fruits like oranges and tomatoes.

The best bladder diet should also include a lot of whole grains, because they are full of fiber and many nutrients. Fiber helps you keep your bowels regular. Your bowels sit near your bladder, and if your bowels are full, they can put pressure on your bladder, causing you to have to go to the bathroom. Choose brown rice and whole-grain cereals, breads and pasta.

*Please don't miss the bottom of this post for valuable "links".

Now let's focus on some healthy options for Lunch.

Everyone loves soup, right? Here are two very good recipes to get you started and some recipes to look at for lunch options, on the bottom of this blog there are some interesting links you can use for more recipes and ingredient details.

Spinach Soup With Rosemary Croutons

Here’s another “easy button” recipe” that requires just a few essential ingredients that can be swapped in and out, depending on what you have in the fridge. Here, cooked spinach, onion, and potatoes are blended with rosemary to create a vegetable-rich savory slurp, but you could use any green you have on hand (think: kale, arugula, or mustard greens) and a variety of herbs (thyme, basil, and tarragon would all do the trick!). Eschewing bread? Just skip the croutons.

Carrot Apple Ginger Soup

Check your farmers market, CSA box, or crisper for these fall staples: carrots, onions, apples, and ginger. This bright, sweet, and spicy soup from Joy the Baker keeps well in the fridge for up to four days, and freezes like a dream. Your January lunch problem? Solved!

Greek Salad

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 4 cups salad greens

• 2 TBS chopped mint

• 3 TBS crumbled feta cheese

• 2 TBS chopped olives

• 1/2 cup garbanzo beans

• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

• 1 TBS red wine vinegar

• sea salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Combine first five ingredients.

2. Toss with olive oil and vinegar, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Marinated Three-Bean Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 can lima beans (8.5 ounce)

• 1 can cut green beans (8 ounce)

• 1 can red kidney beans (8 ounce)

• 1  onion (medium, thinly sliced and separated into two rings)

• 1⁄2 cup bell pepper (chopped sweet green)

• 8 ounces Italian salad dressing (fat-free)

Preparation:

1. Drain the canned beans.

2. Peel and slice the onion and separate into rings

3. In a large bowl, combine the lima beans, green beans, kidney beans, onion rings, and green bell pepper.

4. Pour the Italian dressing over the vegetables and toss lightly.

5. Cover the bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour. The salad can be left in the refrigerator overnight.

6. Drain before serving.

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