The human body is a complicated series of systems and your elderly family member’s bladder may find her diet to be a trigger for issues with incontinence. Understanding this can help you and your senior to narrow down the cause and adjust her diet accordingly.
Lots of Coffee, Tea, or Alcohol
Coffee and tea are both diuretics, but so is alcohol. The added issue with alcohol is that it can cause your senior’s bladder control to be weaker than usual, which becomes more of a problem the more alcohol she consumes. Most people don’t have to completely eliminate coffee, tea, or alcohol from their lives if they are a bladder trigger, but you might want to talk to your senior about restricting her intake of these items.
Sweet Foods and Drinks
Sweet foods and drinks, whether that sweetness is due to sugar or other sweeteners, can be irritating to your senior’s bladder. These types of foods might not seem to be something that might have this type of effect at first. Keeping track of how your senior’s body responds after she eats or drinks something sweet is important in narrowing down the trigger. Some foods and drinks might be more of a problem than others, so it helps to examine the effects of each individually.
Carbonation
Carbonated drinks can be really enjoyable, but they often make incontinence worse. To make matters more complicated, carbonated drinks are often high in sugar content and they may also contain caffeine. This combination teams up multiple potential triggers in one beverage. Some people find that limiting carbonated beverages can help, but your senior may need to avoid them completely if sugar and caffeine are also a problem for her.
Spicy or Acidic Foods
While beverages seem to be the most common form of triggers for incontinence, highly acidic or spicy foods can also cause problems. Spicy foods can irritate multiple parts of your elderly family member’s digestive tract, her bladder included. Acidic foods, such as vinegar-based foods or even citrus fruits, can cause strong reactions. It’s best to test small amounts of foods if they’re new to your senior to avoid going overboard.
Keeping a food and bladder diary can be a fantastic way to narrow down which foods and drinks make incontinence worse for your aging adult. Homecare providers can help you to make sure that everything is getting tracked while helping your elderly family member with other tasks.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Homecare Services in Newton MA, or anywhere in Eastern Massachusetts, please call the caring staff at CARE Resolutions – (508) 906-5572.
- Adapting Meals for Seniors with Chewing or Swallowing Difficulties - November 20, 2024
- How Playing Games Helps Alzheimer’s Patients - November 5, 2024
- What Seniors Should Know About Prescription Medicines - October 17, 2024
