Diet and lifestyle changes can be a great way to live a healthier life. As you age, slowly changing your lifestyle is a great way to prevent a lot of physical problems. A healthy and active lifestyle helps you stay in peak shape as you age, which doesn’t let you feel old in your body or mind. When it comes to urethral strictures, diet and lifestyle changes can help you in certain ways.
Following a proper diet for urethral stricture can help you prevent the condition or if you already have it, it can help you better recover quicker and better. So, now that you know what’s possible, let’s dive into what a good diet for urethral stricture would be. Then we’ll discuss the necessary lifestyle and dietary changes you should consider to get the best benefits.
What Is A Good Diet For Urethral Stricture?
A healthy and balanced diet is the goal. However, if you are trying to prevent or manage urethral strictures, you will have to put special focus on food items that have the nutrition required to keep your body healthy against that condition. So, what are the best items of food for urethral stricture? Let’s find out.
But before you learn about the best foods you should know that they work best when had in conjunction with your medical treatment. Urethral strictures can’t be treated only by adding these food items to your diet. When you are going through your treatment and adding these foods into your diet, you will be able to heal quicker and manage your symptoms better.
Yogurt: Eating yogurt every day will help you keep your symptoms at bay and reduce your chances of developing serious conditions like bladder cancer. It also has nutrients that will help you reduce the chances of developing urinary tract infections. While it can’t help you urinate normally, the yogurt in your system can reduce the chances of the residual urine in your bladder get infected.
Fibre-Rich Foods: Fiber-rich food items like fresh fruits and vegetables can be a great addition to your diet if you have urethral strictures. This is mainly because these foods are easy to digest and they don’t affect your body in any negative way. They are also rich in vitamins and nutrients that are required to keep you healthy. Some of the best food items to consider adding to your diet under this category include oranges, bananas, and apples.
Berries: Berries are very good for your health in general, and they can help you manage and prevent urethral strictures too. They are rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, which help reduce your chances of getting bacterial or fungal infections in your urinary tract. Adding berries to your diet can also help your body flush out the unwanted bacteria and stop them from sticking on to any part of your urinary tract. This can help you manage your condition better. Some of the best berries for you to add to your diet are goji berries, cranberry, black/blueberry, and bananas (yes, they are berries too.)
Garlic: Garlic is a common part of any regular diet, but when you are trying to manage urethral strictures, it’s best if you can mindfully ensure it is in some part of your diet daily. Garlic has antibacterial properties, which help reduce the chances of urine infection. It can also help your body stop the growth of unwanted microbes in your urethra and urinary tract.
Antioxidant-Rich Food Items: Though you have already known about berries, antioxidant-rich food items extend them. These food items are very helpful in helping you manage and prevent urethral strictures and other urological conditions. The anti-inflammatory properties of antioxidant-rich food items help you manage your symptoms better. Some of the best foods, you should add to your diet in this category would be mangoes, milk, grapes, apricots, and carrots.
Urethral Stricture Foods To Avoid
With every dietary addition, there are certain dietary and lifestyle restrictions to help you balance out the bad with the good in your system. So, what are the urethral stricture foods to avoid? Let’s find out.
Caffeine: Cutting down on caffeine and energy drinks is one of the best practices when you have urological conditions. Caffeine is a known diuretic, which makes you urinate more. When you already have a hyperactive bladder, adding a diuretic to your diet will just make your symptoms worse. Instead, if you can cut down on your caffeine intake, it will help you get a hold of your symptoms and manage them better.
Alcohol: Same as caffeine alcohol is a diuretic and cutting it out of your diet will help you manage your symptoms better. Plus, alcohol is also a bladder irritant and continuous consumption of alcohol can lead to urinary tract infections and you losing control of your bladder. This is the reason, if you have urological conditions, your doctor will in most cases ask you to stop drinking alcohol altogether to help you manage your condition better.
Red Meat: Consuming too much red meat can accelerate your condition because of a compound called arachidonic acid in your body. Unnatural levels of this acid in your body can irritate your bladder and even cause your prostate to be inflamed. Cutting down on your consumption can help you manage the levels of arachidonic acid in your body.
Spicy Food: Spicy food is also bad for you if you have urological conditions because it can cause increased urination frequency with the chance of pain while urinating. Do mind that you don’t have to give up all types of spice in your food, but just ensuring that you lower your spice intake is enough to help you manage your condition better.
Lifestyle Changes For Urethral Stricture
Urethral strictures don’t take away a lot from your daily life. Just following some easy precautionary and lifestyle measures will help you stay healthy and keep the condition in check.
Practice safe sex and stay safe against sexually transmitted diseases
Keep yourself safe from urethral and pelvic injuries
If you need to use a catheter, do it yourself and use copious amounts of lubricating jelly during the process
Conclusion
To summarise, diet and lifestyle changes can play a great role in smooth recovery from urethral strictures. Most of this dietary advice will generally be offered by your doctor as a part of your post-operative care. If you consider them you will be able to heal quicker with lesser chances of the strictures recurring or you getting any negative side effects that hamper your sexual health.
To learn more about urethral strictures and their treatment processes, check out MASSH. We offer specialized minimally invasive treatment for urethral strictures with low risk and easy recovery. Check out our website or visit us to get the best specialized urological treatment today.