One of the best ways I can help my patients improve their pelvic health and pelvic floor symptoms is to make sure they have a well-rounded approach to treatment. By including life-style factors like sleep hygiene, stress management and nutrition, we can make sure that all the hard work you’re putting in with your specific plan of care is optimized. March is National Nutrition Month, so let’s look a little further into how nutrition can help improve pelvic floor symptoms.
Figuring out the correct diet is confusing, and I would be lying if I told you there is one perfect diet that we all need to adhere to. Each of us is unique and have different nutrient requirements based on our own body’s makeup. However, we do know that gut health is important for improving our microbiome and immune health, so improving nutrition should be a priority. I’m going to go over some simple, yet helpful tips that can help improve your nutrition and in turn, your pelvic floor.
Water: I’ve talked about this many times, but water is important for hydration and keeping bladder and colon happy. Dehydration can lead to bowel dysfunction, such as constipation, and can be irritating to the bladder, increasing urinary incontinence. Aim for half your body weight in fluid ounces, making sure to increase the amount if you’re outside in the heat or exercising.
Eat real, whole foods: You’ve heard “you are what you eat” right? Try to eat whole foods to max out on nutrients, such as organic fruits/veggies and grass-fed, hormone free meats. Processed foods contain sugars, oils, and preservatory chemicals and aren’t as nutrient dense. These foods can cause or add to inflammation, which may present as pain, fatigue, headaches, etc.
Reduce Irritants: Foods/drinks containing caffeine, alcohol, high acid fruit/veggies, and even gluten and dairy can be irritating. That’s why having a provider (such as a naturopath, nutritionist, integrative medicine, etc) who can work with you individually is beneficial. What’s irritating to one, is not to another so don’t feel like you have to navigate a major diet change alone!
Nutrition is an important, and sometimes overlooked, part of your pelvic health. To better understand how nutrition can improve the pelvic floor, I’ve invited my friend, nutritionist Will Benitez, to give a webinar on “Nutrition for a Healthy Pelvic Floor”. Join On Pace Wellness nutritionists Will Benitez and Stevie Chaddock to learn about how you can optimize your nutrition to reduce inflammation and maintain a healthy pelvic floor!
This event will be held virtually on March 31, 2021 from 7-8pm central time. Tickets are
$15 if you sign up by March 14th, and $18 afterward. We
hope to see you there!
