Urinary incontinence, or involuntary urinary leakage, can be a nuisance and embarrassment. In more serious cases, it can make it harder for people to leave their homes and affect quality of life.
Urinary incontinence is common among adult women, affecting more than 60 percent of those in the United States, with more than 20 percent with moderate or more severe incontinence. In fact, if you’re a woman of a certain age, you probably know the location of every restroom in your local mall.
While menopause and aging can increase the risk of urinary incontinence, eating habits can also affect bladder function, according to a new study from the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland. It found that higher-quality foods can help with urinary incontinence while lower-quality foods can harm it. Eating behaviors, such as eating too much or too little, also have an influence.
Given the high prevalence of urinary incontinence, it’s helpful to know what and how to eat and be aware of other lifestyle practices that minimize symptoms.
Effects of Eating Habits
The bladder and lower part of the bowel lie in the pelvic floor, a group of muscles that—together with surrounding tissues—secure the pelvic organs. Various factors can increase pressure within the abdomen, resulting in changes in structure and function of the pelvic floor, which can result in disorders such as:
- Stress urinary incontinence: the leakage of urine due to sneezing, coughing, laughing, or heavy lifting
- Urgency urinary incontinence (overactive bladder): the sudden, strong urge to urinate, followed by leakage of urine
- Fecal incontinence: the leakage of stool from the rectum
In the study published in Sage Journals, the authors investigated the effects of diet and eating behaviors on urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and constipation. The participants were 1,098 Finnish women aged 47 to 55. They provided fasting blood samples and answered questionnaires on food frequency intake and symptoms of pelvic disorders.
An examination of the potential negative and positive effects of common Finnish foods indicated several associations.
“For example, higher consumption of highly processed ready-made foods and fast food increased the risk for experiencing the symptoms of stress and urgency urinary incontinence,” coauthor Mari Kuutti, faculty member of Sport and Health Sciences of the University of Jyvaskyla, said in a statement.
“Higher consumption of fruits and overall higher quality diet decreased the risk for stress urinary incontinence.”
In describing a higher-quality diet, the authors included fresh vegetables and high-fiber breads.
The researchers also studied what they called disordered eating patterns, which included restrictive eating, overeating, and alternating the two. Restrictive eating refers to eating less food over the long term to lose or maintain weight while overeating—including compulsive eating and binging—means eating more food than is needed.
The findings indicated that women who reported disordered eating behaviors were more likely to experience urinary incontinence, urgency urinary incontinence, constipation, defecation issues, and fecal incontinence. This could be because people with disordered eating often have higher BMIs, according to the authors.
Drinking alcohol, coffee, or different types of beverages was not linked to symptoms of urinary incontinence. Studies show eating fiber is associated with better bowel function, as women who eat the most fibrous foods are less likely to have constipation than women who eat the least.
To help prevent pelvic floor disorders, the authors recommended that women at risk be assessed and offered guidance about healthy diet and eating patterns.
Underlying Mechanisms
The study’s authors offered several hypotheses about mechanisms that may underlie the links between diet and pelvic floor disorders. Unhealthy Western diets are high in processed, ready-made, and fast foods, which typically contain large amounts of fat, leading to oxidative stress. In contrast, fruits are rich in antioxidants, which counter oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress happens when there is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants. Free radicals are oxygen-containing molecules with an uneven number of electrons, which causes them to react easily with other molecules in the body, resulting in harmful chemical reactions. Antioxidants can donate an electron to a free radical, making it less reactive and harmful.
Additionally, the high-fat content in Western diets contributes to low-grade systemic inflammation, while the antioxidants in fruit reduce inflammation.
“Oxidative stress and systemic inflammation are associated with both stress and urgency urinary incontinence,” they wrote.
The authors also speculated that diets high in antioxidants may be rich in other nutrients contributing to urinary continence. For instance, omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial for skeletal muscle function. Other macro- and micronutrients in healthy foods include protein and vitamin D, which are also integral for proper skeletal muscle function.
In regard to eating behaviors, the authors noted that those who overeat tend to eat very palatable foods, which are high in fat and carbohydrates but low in fiber. Because a poor-quality diet causes unhealthful effects that can contribute to incontinence, this would explain the link.
Healthy Eating Versus Ready-Made Foods
A healthy diet includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and protein, such as fish, lean meat, and beans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, healthy foods help you live longer and promote many aspects of wellness. This includes strengthening bones, boosting immunity, promoting digestive function, supporting muscles, fostering weight maintenance, and facilitating the health of teeth, skin, and eyes.
Processed foods are high in salt, sugar, trans fat, and saturated fat. Excessive eating of these dietary components is thought to be the leading cause of the increased risk of major health concerns, such as cancer, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (heart and blood vessels), noted a research article published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
How to Switch
Because switching from a predominantly processed food diet to a healthy diet can improve urination and many aspects of health, it helps to know how to do it. Vandana Sheth, registered dietitian, diabetes expert, and author, shared her tips with The Epoch Times.
“Since food processing can play an important role in food safety, affordability, and access to nutrition, instead of eliminating all processed foods, I suggest focusing on options that support health while also providing balance and convenience,” she said in an email. Below are Sheth’s recommendations:
- Choose high-fiber, whole-grain cereals or oatmeal with nuts and fruit instead of sugary cereals. This will provide more fiber and help regulate blood sugar.
- Choose 100 percent fruit juice in moderation or whole fruits instead of fruit-flavored drinks. You will get more nutrients and less added sugar.
- Try 100 percent whole grain bread, quinoa, or brown rice instead of white bread. This will give you more fiber and can help with digestion.
- Choose low-sodium soups or make your own homemade soup instead of canned soups, which are usually quite high in sodium.
- Consider oven-roasted or air-fried versions of your favorite meals instead of fried fast food. They will be lower in saturated fat yet flavorful.
- Try fresh-cooked chicken, turkey, fish, tofu, or beans instead of processed deli meats. These will have less sodium and preservatives.
“Bottomline, processed foods are not automatically unhealthy,” Sheth said. “In fact, many foods like fortified whole grain cereals, canned beans, plain yogurt, and frozen vegetables provide important nutrients and can be part of a healthy diet. The key is to prioritize foods that are nutrient dense while also limiting excess added sugars, unhealthy fats, and sodium.”
Lifestyle Tips for Incontinence
Tips from conventional urologists as well as alternative medicine practitioners include:
Conventional Advice
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) advises avoiding foods that can irritate the bladder.
A review published in the International Journal of Research and Public Health searched the body of research for possible food triggers of urinary incontinence in women and found the following:
- Spicy foods: These include horseradish, mustard, wasabi, and chili powder, which activate sensory nerve endings, producing irritation and inflammation.
- Citrus products: In addition to foods such as oranges, sodas also contain ascorbic acid, which increases muscle contractions in the bladder.
- Caffeine: Even low doses can affect physiological processes in the bladder that result in urinary urgency.
- Artificial sweeteners: These are found in diet and low-calorie sodas and foods, and they have a stimulating effect on the bladder.
In addition, the NIH recommends that people with urinary incontinence quit smoking, keep a healthy weight, avoid constipation, and drink enough fluids, especially water.
Experts also advocate strengthening the pelvic floor muscles, which help hold urine in the bladder, through Kegel exercises. This involves finding and squeezing the muscles for five seconds and then fully relaxing them.
Naturopathic Advice
The field of alternative medicine can also help urinary incontinence, Jennifer Habashy, a naturopathic physician, told The Epoch Times in an email. Her recommendations are:
- Herbal remedies: Corn silk, cranberry extract, and pumpkin seed oil can help support urinary health. Corn silk soothes the urinary tract, cranberry extract prevents infections and improves bladder tone, and pumpkin seed oil strengthens pelvic floor muscles and reduces inflammation, aiding in bladder control.
- Mind-body practices: Mindfulness-based stress reduction can be beneficial, as it helps manage stress, a common trigger for bladder urgency and frequency.
- Acupuncture: This ancient practice, involving the insertion of fine needles into pressure points on the skin, helps regulate bladder function, strengthens pelvic muscles, and reduces stress that contributes to incontinence.
Rebounding is an exercise that consists of gentle bouncing or jogging on a mini-trampoline. Since the activity moves the entire body against gravity, it has the potential to tone all muscle groups, including those that support the bladder.
“Rebounding is definitely beneficial for women with urinary incontinence, due to strengthening, toning, and stabilizing muscles around their pelvic floor and core,” Amanda Grimm, a UK Athletics certified running coach, told The Epoch Times in an email. “This way of exercising is classed as low impact, and if a person has severe incontinence, then I’d encourage them to take part in bouncing workouts as well as pelvic floor exercises.”
