Stress and urge incontinence can be caused by a variety of factors such as childbirth, loss of estrogen in menopause, physical changes due to aging and hysterectomy*. But did you know that what you eat and your weight could make you incontinent?

There are many studies that have related incontinence to obesity. Others have studied the influence of certain foods and drinks in bladder control. If you are experiencing leakages try evaluating your diet to see if it could be the underlying cause.

The first step to manage stress or urge incontinence is to eat healthy food and manage your weight. In this article you will find a list of foods and drinks that could make you urinate more often.

Certain foods and drinks can irritate your bladder, causing you to urinate more often, or feel a greater urgency to urinate. Each person is affected by foods differently, so you will have to spend some time observing how your own body reacts to what you eat and drink.

The most common products that affect urination are diuretics or foods and drinks with diuretic properties, such as:

Caffeine (from coffee, sodas, tea, even chocolate) is the most common diuretic in the diets of women over 50.

Alcohol also acts as a diuretic, by stimulating your bladder and by causing dehydration in your body.

Spicy foods can irritate your bladder much like caffeine. You will have to spend some time observing the effect of different spicy ingredients and foods on your bladder before you can determine which of them, if any, to consider eliminating from your diet.

Acidic foods can also irritate the bladder. You should carefully monitor the effect of citrus products (including orange juice and cranberry juice, which can be recommended for healthy bladders) and tomatoes on your overactive or leaking bladder.

Food and drinks that contain carbonation (whether caffeinated or decaf), high levels of artificial sweeteners, corn syrup, or sugar can also irritate your bladder and cause you to urnitate more often.

As afore mentioned obesity has its influence in incontinence episodes. So we recommend you start doing some light exercises to help you loose weight and ease off the pressure in your bladder. Start with short walks around your block to build up confidence.

Once you feel confident enough start jogging and increase time and intensity gradually. Speaking of exercises it is important not to forget about Kegel Exercises, the most effective way to restore bladder control.

It is important to highlight the fact that with incontinence there isn’t a set treatment for all patients, each case should be accessed individually. Because what works for one patient might not work for others. So our last piece of advice is, if you are experiencing some sort incontinence episodes talk to your GP and let him suggest what is the best treatment for your type of incontinence.