Bladder Irritants
Hi, Bestie. How are things? I hope you’ve been doing fabulously. Today, I’d love to chat a bit about bladder irritants. Have you ever eaten something that just didn’t sit right with you? It made you extra gassy or gave you diarrhea or just felt like it was sloshing around in your stomach? Well, this is that, but for your bladder. We will cover some of the most common food items that can irritate your bladder and what symptoms you might experience if your bladder is irritated.
If you want to grab some coffee or tea before we dive in, now’s your chance!
Bladder irritation can be associated with many different symptoms. These could include:
- A strong, persistent urge to urinate (urinary urgency)
- Urinary incontinence
- Urinary frequency (urinating more than 6-8x per day, or more than every 2-4 hours)
The bladder can become irritated by some of the most common foods and fluids in your diet, and this can result in the above-mentioned symptoms. So, what are these bladder irritants? Before I tell you, don’t kill the messenger! Some of these are, what I would consider, the best foods and beverages. So don’t blame me for conveying this message and potentially ruining the cup of coffee you just poured—I didn’t choose which foods irritate the bladder!
Let’s talk about some of the most common bladder irritants:
Caffeine: this includes coffee (even decaf!), tea (mostly black and green tea), soda, and even chocolate (truly a tragedy). Caffeine is a huge contributor to bladder irritation and urinary symptoms. One study indicated that urinary incontinence of any type was associated with women drinking more than 200mg of caffeine per day (about 2 cups) (1). The FDA has cited 400mg of caffeine per day as the amount healthy adults can consume before negative effects, so it is important to note that urinary incontinence has a higher chance of occurring at just half of that FDA approved amount. Coffee typically has about 100mg of caffeine per 8 oz cup. Contrastingly, black tea only has about 50mg of caffeine per 8oz cup, and instant coffee has about 60mg caffeine per 8oz cup. If you are looking to cut down your caffeine intake in order to control bladder symptoms, consider trying one of these alternatives. If you’re a tea drinker, aim for non-citrus, non-caffeinated teas that are herbal for your best chance at avoiding irritation. Chocolate is included because it contains caffeine, but the lighter the chocolate, the less the caffeine!
Alcohol: Alcohol irritates the bladder because it is highly acidic! It also dehydrates the body, and acts as a diuretic, which can cause unpleasant bladder symptoms.
Nicotine: Smoking has been associated with increased risk for SUI (2).
Carbonated beverages: Carbonated beverages often also contain artificial sweeteners, caffeine, or acid. The carbonation of bubbly drinks comes from dissolved carbon dioxide, resulting in an acidic solution. This means even just sparkly water can be irritating to the bladder—sorry Europeans! (3). Also, sorry to me…I live in Europe and have now become obsessed with sparkling water, it’s almost all I drink these days.
Spicy foods: Spicy foods contain compounds, such as capsaicin, that can irritate and inflame the lining of the bladder, causing the above-mentioned symptoms.
Foods containing high levels of acid (ie lemons): It is generally thought that foods with high levels of acid have the potential to increase bladder irritation. Take the carbonated beverages for example. Due to this, it is widely thought that acidic fruits such as lemons, strawberries, oranges, grapefruits, pineapples, or even plums can affect the bladder. If you look this up, you’ll see tons of articles saying to avoid these foods if your bladder is irritated—and in my own clinical practice, I have had patients who have been irritated by these foods. But it is always important to look at the other side, as well, and in this case there is a study that reports no associations between acidic fruit and urinary incontinence (4). This was a large study, so the results carry a fair amount of weight. Take this information and draw your own conclusion. If in doubt, try eliminating highly acidic foods and see if that helps your symptoms.
Artificial sweeteners: Artificial sweeteners are another big one. In one study looking at rat bladders, artificial sweeteners actually made the bladders contract spontaneously. As we know from our chat on urinary urge incontinence, the contraction of the bladder muscle is what allows us to urinate. However, we don’t want that contraction to happen until we are ready and at the toilet, otherwise we could have urinary leakage. Basically, a spontaneous bladder contraction is way less than ideal since we always want to have control of the bladder contracting. If you have a sweet tooth like me, and love your artificial sweetener, this one is hard to swallow, but super important. (5)
Foods containing high levels of oxalate: Foods with high oxalate content are more often associated with more severe bladder symptoms, such as those in interstitial cystitis (IC), which we will talk about in the future. These foods include things like beans, berries, chocolate, coffee, and dark, leafy veggies.
Concentrated urine: Concentrated urine is irritating to the bladder. The less diluted the urine is, the more acidic it is, and, as we know by now, the bladder is not a huge fan of acid. This is why the intake of proper amounts and types of fluid is essential. Drinking water (8 or so glasses a day) dilutes the urine so that it is not as irritating to the bladder, and this, in turn, decreases potential symptoms of urinary urgency, urinary frequency, or urinary urge incontinence (UUI).
Note that just because something is a common bladder irritant, does not mean it is guaranteed to irritate your bladder. It is important that you take note of what you eat or drink before noticing symptoms of bladder irritation. This is when filling out a bladder diary can come in handy. It is an easier way to notice patterns occurring when bladder/urinary symptoms occur. If you have to sprint to the bathroom every morning 10 minutes after drinking your coffee, then coffee could be a bladder irritant for you. Eliminating or reducing bladder irritants can be part of your treatment for urinary and bladder symptoms.
Further, even if you conclude that some of your favorite foods are causing your bladder to become irritated, this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to give them up completely. If your bladder is irritated by coffee, try drinking one cup instead of two, or drinking some water before and after your cup of coffee instead. Maybe try going half-caf (half regularly caffeinated coffee and half decaf) and see how that goes. You can play around with your routine and see what works best for you. And if you end up finding that your symptoms really are best when you cut out the irritant completely, then you may be left considering where your priorities lay; dealing with the irritation and drinking your favorite drink, or abstaining and having a happier bladder—both valid choices.
If you suffer from some of the symptoms associated with bladder irritation, make sure you are getting adequate fluid intake, check to see if you are consuming excessive amounts of potential bladder irritants, and check in with your doctor. You can also try an over-the-counter medication such as Prelief, which can help neutralize acid in the diet and decrease symptoms in the bladder.
Things such as severe bladder pain are less likely to result from dietary bladder irritants and could be due to painful bladder syndrome or interstitial cystitis. We’ll talk more about that another time, but if you have severe bladder pain, it’s a good idea to see your doctor. Also note that if you have a low-grade fever, painful urination, or cloudy urine, get tested for a urinary tract infection (UTI).
Let’s end with a huge shout out to the foods that are believed to have a calming effect on the bladder. These include pears, bananas, green beans, squash, potatoes, lean proteins, whole grains, nuts, bread (!!), and eggs (6). Thank goodness for these.
I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling like a big glass of water after this talk.
We’ll chat soon!
XOXO, Your Pelvic Bestie
References:
1. Gleason et al. Caffeine and urinary incontinence in US women. Int Urogynecol J 2013
2. Bump RC, McClish DM. Cigarette smoking and pure genuine stress incontinence of urine: a comparison of risk factors and determinants between smokers and nonsmokers. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1994
3. Maserejian NN, Wager CG, Giovannucci EL, Curto TM, McVary KT, McKinlay JB. Intake of caffeinated, carbonated, or citrus beverage types and development of lower urinary tract symptoms in men and women. Am J Epidemiol. 2013 Jun 15;177(12):1399-410
4. Townsend et al. Acidic fruit intake in relation to incidence and progression of urinary incontinence. Int Urogynecol J 2013
5. Dasgupta et al. Enhancement of rat bladder contraction by artificial sweeteners via increased extracellular Ca2+ influx. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2006
6. https://www.urologyhealth.org/healthy-living/care-blog/10-foods-your-bladder-will-fall-in-love-with
*The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
