Diet for cystitis

Cystitis is a disease characterized by inflammation of the mucous tissues of the bladder, in which the patient suffers from pain in the lower abdomen, false urge to urinate, burning during and after urination. Various types of treatment are recommended for cystitis - medication, physiotherapy (laser therapy, electrophoresis), electrical stimulation, surgical treatment and diet. One of the factors that provoke the disease is the consumption of certain foods. Therefore, a diet for cystitis allows you to remove one of the root causes of the disease and improve the patient's condition.

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Treatment of cystitis with diet

The main goal of the special diet is to remove irritation of the bladder mucosa and introduce light foods into the diet that help cleanse the body. Great importance is also attached to the diuretic effect of the diet, since with the use of a large amount of liquid, the bladder is washed from infection, which contributes to the speedy recovery of the patient.

In mild cases of the disease, treatment of cystitis with diet is one of the important factors in the patient's recovery. This diet, which will be discussed below, must be followed not only during the period of acute cystitis or relapses of the chronic form of the disease, but also for a long time. Since a special diet helps restore the body's fight against pathogens and restore bladder function.

Basic principles of diet for cystitis:

1. Diuretic character.
2. Low salt diet.
3. A diet that excludes spicy foods.
4. Low protein diet.
5. A diet that excludes fats.
6. Diet without sugar and its substitutes.
7. Diet to help prevent constipation.
8. A diet that excludes heavy food processing methods, such as frying, salting and canning.

Diet for cystitis and pyelonephritis

Pyelonephritis is the most common kidney disease in all age groups. The disease is caused by bacteria and manifests itself in inflammation of the renal pelvis, calyces and renal parenchyma. Most often, women suffer from pyelonephritis - six times more than men. This is due to the specific structure of the female body.

Nutrition for simultaneous cystitis and pyelonephritis is as follows. The main task of therapeutic nutrition is to increase the outflow of urine from these organs, which will flush the kidneys and bladder from infections. This goal is achieved by including alkalizing foods, low-salt foods, foods with a minimum content of proteins and fats and liquid in the patient's diet. Food must be taken at least four times a day and eaten in small portions.

The diet for cystitis and pyelonephritis is predominantly dairy and vegetable, which optimally combines proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Products that can be consumed for these diseases:

1. A variety of fresh vegetables in large quantities.
2. Boiled beets.
3. Fruits that grow in a given area.
4. Fermented milk products – kefir, fermented baked milk, sour milk, natural yogurt.
5. Porridge.
6. Vegetable soups not prepared with broth.
7. Boiled meat and fish.

The following foods should be excluded from the diet of patients:

1. Smoked, pickled and salted products.
2. Spicy dishes and seasonings, strong spices, including onions, parsley, garlic, horseradish.
3. Cakes, pastries and other baked goods.
4. Sweets, including chocolate and candies.
5. Fatty and salty cheeses.
6. Coffee, cocoa and strong tea.

To increase urine flow, special measures should be taken:

1. Drink plenty of fluids, at least two liters a day
2. Drink weak green tea regularly – up to three to five glasses per day.
3. Eat vegetables, fruits and berries with a high liquid content as often as possible – cucumbers, watermelons, melons, as well as cranberries, lingonberries, strawberries and celery.
4. Drink a special infusion, which is prepared as follows. Strawberry, blackcurrant and birch leaves are taken in equal parts and mixed. Then 1 tablespoon of the mixture is poured with 1 glass of boiling water. After this, the container must be carefully closed, left for an hour and then the infusion must be filtered. It is recommended to drink the infusion half a glass three times a day half an hour before meals. The course of treatment with the infusion is 2-3 months.
5. Juice therapy is the use of freshly squeezed juices. The procedure should be started when the first signs of illness appear. Juice therapy provides not only a diuretic effect, but also a powerful healing effect. In the first days, you need to take a small amount of juices, then increase the consumption to one glass per day.

Saturation of the patient's body with vitamins plays a major role in recovery. It is recommended to take vitamin teas, which are prepared as follows:

1. Sea buckthorn and strawberry leaves are taken in equal parts and mixed. 1 tbsp. of the mixture is poured with 1 tbsp. of boiling water, infused for half an hour, and then filtered. Take the infusion one glass 30 minutes before meals two or three times a day. The course of treatment is one to two months.
2. Take the fruits of rose hips, rowan, black currant, sea buckthorn, red rowan and wild strawberry leaves in equal parts. The mixture must be crushed, and then take two tablespoons of the mixture, place it in a thermos and pour 300 ml of boiling water. The healing drink must be left to brew for 6-8 hours, and then strain and squeeze out the grounds. Take half a glass a day 30 minutes before meals twice a day. The course of treatment is one to two months.

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Diet for acute cystitis

Acute cystitis is a purulent-inflammatory process of the mucous tissue of the bladder, which causes a stinging or burning sensation during urination. The urge to empty the bladder is felt frequently, but occurs in small portions. The patient is also bothered by pain or discomfort in the lower abdomen, accompanied in some cases by an increase in body temperature to 37-37.5 degrees. Symptoms of the disease appear within 6 or 7 days, and then subside.

The diet for acute cystitis is aimed at washing the urinary tract in order to remove the pathogens of this disease. Also, one of the main tasks of the diet is to prevent irritation of the mucous tissue of the bladder wall. When the patient's condition stabilizes, the following diet is recommended:

1. Drinking plenty of fluids, more than one and a half to two liters per day. If your body temperature starts to rise, you need to increase your daily fluid intake to 2.5 liters. You should drink mineral water, but only calcium chloride. It is very good to drink fruit compotes during this period, especially cranberry or lingonberry juice. Vegetable and fruit juices (except tomato) are also suitable - pumpkin juice, for example, has a diuretic effect.
2. In acute cystitis, you need to take herbal infusions that "wash" the urinary tract well. These are various kidney teas, which include bearberry, corn silk, horsetail, and lingonberry leaf. The above-mentioned medicinal herbs have an anti-inflammatory and diuretic effect.
3. It is necessary to introduce into the diet products with a diuretic effect. These are fresh vegetables - cucumbers, carrots, spinach, zucchini; fruits - grapes, pomegranate; melons - watermelons, melons.
4. For acute cystitis, it is recommended to eat one tablespoon of honey to relieve inflammation.
5. During treatment, it is necessary to exclude foods containing large amounts of calcium – milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt.
6. At the onset of symptoms of the disease, it is recommended to exclude fish and meat from consumption. Then, when the condition improves, you can introduce fermented milk products, unsalted cheese and cottage cheese into the daily diet, and later - meat and fish.

Diet for chronic cystitis

Chronic cystitis includes a number of chronic manifestations that may have an acute inflammatory phase (acute cystitis). Among the symptoms of this disease are also discomfort, heaviness and pain in the bladder, frequent urge to urinate, burning when emptying the bladder. Sometimes blood appears in the urine. With chronic cystitis, the wall of the bladder is completely inflamed, becomes edematous and small ulcers appear on it.

The diet for chronic cystitis is also aimed at providing an antimicrobial and diuretic effect. Experts advise following the following recommendations:

1. Daily consumption of vegetables and fruits. Healthy vegetables, fruits and melons include pumpkin, asparagus, cucumbers, celery, parsley, grapes, pears and melon.
2. Drink freshly prepared fruit juices, compotes and fruit drinks without added sugar.
3. Use herbal infusions and decoctions; treatment is recommended to be carried out in courses.
4. The amount of liquid per day should be at least two liters.
5. Consume a large amount of fiber, because it is necessary to avoid constipation prevention. Since gastrointestinal disorders lead to the absorption of toxic substances into the blood, which provokes irritation of the bladder mucosa when they are excreted from the body. The fiber necessary for the body is found in vegetables - carrots, fresh cabbage, etc.; in bran and whole grain cereals.
6. The daily diet of patients with chronic cystitis should include a handful of pine nuts and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

The following foods should be excluded from consumption:

1. Canned, salted, fried foods, as well as various pickles and broths.
2. Hot spices and seasonings.
3. Vegetables that irritate the mucous surface of the bladder include onions, garlic, horseradish, radishes, celery, cauliflower, sorrel, horseradish, tomatoes, and green salad.
4. You should avoid eating sour fruits and berries.

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Diet for cystitis in children

Cystitis is a fairly common childhood disease. Moreover, cystitis occurs in girls 5-6 times more often than in boys, which is due to the structure of their urinary tract. The main cause of childhood cystitis is infection in the bladder. The main symptoms of cystitis in children are pain in the lower abdomen, burning when urinating, cloudy urine, fever, and general malaise.

The diet for cystitis in children consists of the following foods:

1. Fermented milk products (unsweetened yogurts, kefir, fermented baked milk).
2. Porridge.
3. Fruits and vegetables.
4. Lean meats.
5. It is recommended to drink plenty of fluids – fruit juices, especially cranberry and lingonberry; fruit drinks and compotes without sugar; still mineral waters.
6. Decoctions of medicinal herbs. Three types of decoctions are recommended:
   1. a decoction of flax seeds, pumpkin and hemp, linden flowers and chamomile, blackberry leaves, St. John's wort, marsh wild rosemary;
   2. a decoction of yarrow, licorice root, birch leaves, dill seeds;
   3. a decoction of motherwort, chamomile, lemon balm, hops, succession, valerian, and water trefoil.

In case of cystitis in children, the following are excluded from the sick child’s diet:

1. Spicy and salty dishes and products.
2. Fried and fatty foods.
3. All kinds of sweets – chocolate, candies, cakes, pastries and baked goods.

It is clear that children cannot do without sweets. If a child has a great need for sweet dishes, then you can eat honey, jam, marmalade and marshmallows in small quantities.

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Diet for radiation cystitis

Radiation cystitis is a complication caused by radiation therapy for pelvic cancer. Ionizing radiation causes changes in the bladder vessels and damages the cells of its mucous membrane. The consequences of these disorders lead to deterioration of the mucous tissue nutrition, which provokes the appearance of various ulcers on it.

The diet for radiation cystitis includes the following foods and drinks:

1. Kidney teas, which were mentioned above.
2. Large quantities of freshly prepared vegetable juices.
3. Cranberry juice, which can be sweetened only with fresh apple juice. It is known that with cystitis it is necessary to take about 500 grams of vitamin C daily, but only natural, since it has a pronounced anti-infective effect. Cranberry juice contains this vitamin in abundance, which makes it extremely useful in the treatment of radiation cystitis. Cranberry juice also has other advantages: the taste of juice with astringent notes helps to eliminate various inflammatory processes in the body. Substances that are part of cranberry juice can change the composition of urine, which makes it unsuitable for the vital activity of pathogenic bacteria. There is another useful property of cranberry juice: it contains a component that helps protect the cells of the urethra from the penetration of harmful microorganisms.
4. Drink plenty of fluids: warm, non-acidic compote without sugar, mineral water.
5. Wild berries: lingonberries, blueberries, cloudberries.
6. Watermelons, melons, fresh vegetables and fruits.
7. Fermented milk products.

In case of radiation cystitis, the following foods should be excluded from the diet:

1. Salt.
2. Concentrated proteins – meat, fish, cheese, cottage cheese, beans.
3. Refined starches – peeled potatoes, bakery products made from premium flour.
4. Artificial sugars - candies and other sweets; sweet drinks; carbonated drinks).
5. Fatty and spicy dishes, sauces, seasonings; smoked foods.
6. Vegetables that irritate the urinary tract along with the bladder - radish, onion, horseradish, garlic, spinach, sorrel, radish, and the like.
7. Strong meat, fish and mushroom broths.
8. Beer and other alcohol.
9. Canned foods and pickles.

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Diet for cystitis in men

In men, inflammation of the bladder is provoked by an infection that has penetrated it. The list of pathogenic bacteria is large - this includes E. coli, Proteus, Staphylococcus, Gonorrhea, pathogenic fungi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Chlamydia. In almost one hundred percent of cases, the pathogen enters the bladder from nearby inflamed organs through the bloodstream. Diseases such as prostatitis, urethritis, chronic pyelonephritis, tuberculosis of the kidneys and others can cause inflammatory changes in the mucous tissue of the bladder.

Therefore, the diet for cystitis in men should be gentle. It should not only help alleviate the patient's condition with cystitis, but also reduce inflammatory processes in the organ that provoked the disease.

The diet for cystitis in men is as follows:

1. Drink plenty of fluids – up to two and a half liters per day.
2. Consumption of foods that have a diuretic effect - watermelons, cucumbers, pumpkin, melons, cranberries.
3. Eat cereals, bran and whole grain bread.
4. Fermented milk products.

The following are prohibited:

1. Alcoholic beverages.
2. Salty, spicy, fatty, fried foods and fast foods.
3. Sour fruits and berries (with the exception of cranberries).

Diet for cystitis and urethritis

Urethritis is an inflammatory disease of the urinary canal, which has two subtypes: infectious and non-infectious forms. Urethritis is accompanied by the following symptoms - pain, stinging or burning during urination, especially at the very beginning; mucous discharge from the urethra of a blue-green color with an unpleasant odor.

Cystitis and urethritis are interrelated diseases, so they can occur simultaneously. For example, inflammation of the bladder can promote infection in the urethra and cause inflammation in the urethra. Also, an infectious lesion of the urinary tract can stimulate the development of cystitis.

The diet for simultaneous cystitis and urethritis should be diuretic and antiseptic, which is aimed at destroying pathogenic bacteria in the body. Washing the inflamed organs with a large amount of liquid helps relieve inflammation of the irritated mucous tissues of the bladder and urethra.

One of the important tasks of proper nutrition is to ease the load on the kidneys, which is achieved by selecting healthy foods. The basis of the diet of patients with cystitis is natural food, excluding GMOs, dyes and preservatives. All recommendations given for acute and chronic cystitis are suitable for the simultaneous treatment of cystitis and urethritis.

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Diet for cystitis in women

Women suffer from cystitis six times more often than men, and at any age. This is due to the specific structure of the female genitourinary system. The urethra is wider in women than in men, so infection more easily gets into the bladder. Cystitis can also be caused by:

1. Hypothermia.
2. Prolonged work in a sitting position (for example, at a computer), which leads to the occurrence of congestion in the pelvic organs.
3. Long-term constipation that occurs at short intervals.
4. Abuse of spicy, salty and fried foods.
5. Failure to comply with the drinking regime, lack of a large amount of liquid in the diet.

The diet for cystitis in women contains all the recommendations that were given when cystitis occurred in men, as well as in the section on diets for acute and chronic forms of the disease. You can add several recommendations that are well suited for healing the female body from the disease:

1. It is necessary to drink clean, filtered water. During periods of exacerbation of the disease, switch to drinking calcium chloride mineral water without gas.
2. The daily diet must include vegetable soup or borscht, prepared without the use of meat, mushroom or fish broths.
3. Take medicinal herbal decoctions every day that help stop inflammatory processes, as well as infusions that have a diuretic effect.
4. Introduce a large amount of vegetables and fruits into your diet.
5. Use porridge, bran and bread made from wholemeal flour in your diet.

What is the diet for cystitis?

Let's summarize all the above recommendations for patients with cystitis and answer the question: "What is the diet for cystitis?"

• A diet that helps with cystitis is diuretic and anti-inflammatory in nature, with the consumption of large amounts of fluid.
• The diet should be natural, excluding products containing GMOs, dyes and preservatives from the patient’s diet.
• The diet for cystitis contains a small amount of salt; in some cases, it is completely excluded from the patient's diet.
• Food in most cases should be freshly prepared.
• Preference is given to boiled, stewed or steamed food.
• It is necessary to exclude heavy food from the diet. In the first half of the day, you need to eat more caloric foods, and in the second half - less caloric.
• It is useful to consume fermented milk products.
• When you have cystitis, spicy and sour foods, as well as pickles and marinades, are prohibited.
• A diet for cystitis excludes the consumption of foods containing sugar and its substitutes.
• Therapeutic nutrition for cystitis is characterized by a diet containing a small amount of protein products.

Diet menu for cystitis

Taking into account the above recommendations, you can make up a daily menu for the patient. Such a diet should be followed for a year after the last exacerbation of the disease. From the above dishes, you can choose those that you want to eat during the day, thereby diversifying the rather strict menu of the diet for cystitis.

Breakfast – porridge, steamed vegetables, vegetable puree, unsalted cheese. Sometimes you can treat yourself to soft-boiled eggs or an omelet. You can drink kefir, fermented baked milk or natural yogurt, cottage cheese. Weak tea or freshly made juice are good for breakfast.

Lunch – first courses: vegetable soups, borscht, beetroot soup, shchi, cereal soups. Second courses – steamed cutlets from lean meat, meatballs, boiled meat or fish; baked or stewed vegetables; porridge; fresh vegetables. For dessert, you can eat sweet fruits or wash them down with mousses, compotes, sweet fresh juices, kissels without added sugar.

Afternoon snack: baked potatoes with butter, kefir, and fruit for dessert.

Dinner: cottage cheese casseroles, pancakes made from wholemeal flour, vinaigrette, salads, porridge, wholemeal pasta (sometimes you can make pasta with unsalted cheese), freshly squeezed juices.

Diet recipes for cystitis

Of course, it is quite difficult to immediately switch to a dietary diet that is recommended for cystitis. Especially if the usual food was unhealthy, containing a large number of fried, spicy, salty, sweet and flour dishes. To help patients with cystitis, concerned about restoring their health, we will give several recipes for simple dishes that are very easy to prepare.

• Steamed zucchini cutlets.

Ingredients: 1 medium zucchini, 1 egg white, 1 tablespoon coarse flour, a little salt.

Preparation: Wash the zucchini, peel it and grate it on a coarse grater. Add salt, flour and egg white to the grated zucchini and then mix everything. Grease the steamer container with vegetable oil. Then use your hands to form small cutlets and place them in the pan at some distance from each other. The dish will take 15 minutes to prepare.

• Steamed turkey cutlets.

Ingredients: 1 kg turkey fillet, a few slices of wholemeal bread without crust, half a glass of water, a small amount of salt, wholemeal flour for breading.

Preparation: Soak the bread in water. Then wash the turkey fillet and let the water drain. Then mince the bread for the first time, and add the bread to it for the second time and mince again. Next, add a little salt to the mince, add a few spoons of boiling water if necessary and knead thoroughly. Sift about half a glass of flour into a flat plate, then scoop up the turkey mince with a tablespoon and place it on the plate with flour. You can sprinkle flour on top and then form small cutlets. Then place the cutlets in a steamer pan and cook for 40 minutes to 1 hour.

• Diet pumpkin porridge.

Ingredients: pumpkin, a little butter and honey if desired.

Preparation: Wash and peel the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin pulp into small cubes, place in a saucepan and add water to cover the cubes slightly. Then boil the pumpkin until done, about 20 minutes. Mash the finished product with a fork, masher, or blender. If desired, you can add a little butter and honey.

• Diet buckwheat soup.

Ingredients: for two liters of water you need 2 potatoes, 1 small carrot, half a glass of buckwheat, a spoon of vegetable oil. Salt is added in small quantities.

Preparation: Rinse the buckwheat and cover with cold water. Then add the coarsely grated carrots and diced potatoes to the cereal. Put the soup on the fire and bring to a boil. When the water boils, reduce the heat to a minimum and cook the buckwheat and vegetables under the lid until done. To do this, try the potatoes with a fork, and if they pierce easily, the soup is ready. At the end of cooking, you can add a little salt and one tablespoon of olive or other vegetable oil.

Dietary nutrition is not as monotonous as it is commonly thought. Recipes for cooking dishes for cystitis include soups and vegetable purees, casseroles and steamed cutlets, salads and porridges. If desired, you can make the strict diet varied and treat yourself to permitted delicacies.

A diet for cystitis is a necessary remedy when the disease appears. Of course, serious dietary restrictions will be required, as well as the exclusion of favorite foods from the diet that are harmful to health. But such a measure must be taken, since therapeutic nutrition plays a major role in the treatment and prevention of cystitis.

What can you eat if you have cystitis?

So, let's summarize the above recommendations and answer a common question from patients: "What can you eat with cystitis?" Here is a list of foods that can be consumed with cystitis:

1. Fresh vegetables in large quantities, especially diuretic ones – cucumbers, carrots, celery, zucchini, pumpkin, and so on.
2. Non-acidic fruits that grow in this region are sweet apples, pears, grapes. The exception is pomegranate, since its juice has an anti-inflammatory effect on cystitis.
3. Melons – watermelon and melon.
4. Berries – cranberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, blueberries.
5. Whole grain cereals, bran and a small amount of whole grain bread.
6. Fermented milk products – natural yogurt, fermented baked milk, kefir, sour milk; sometimes – unsalted cheese.
7. Vegetable vegetarian soups.
8. Lean meats and fish.
9. Olive oil – one tablespoon per day.
10. Pine nuts - the daily dose is about one handful.
11. Sometimes you can eat a few eggs.
12. Honey, which can be eaten in small quantities if you really want something sweet.

For cystitis, it is recommended to drink sugar-free cranberry and lingonberry fruit drinks, fruit compotes, infusions of diuretic herbs and fruits, kidney teas, freshly prepared juices, weak green tea, still calcium chloride mineral water and filtered water.

What should you not eat if you have cystitis?

People suffering from this disease often ask the following question: "What should not be eaten with cystitis?" There is a list of foods and drinks that should be completely excluded from the patient's diet.

The following should be removed from use:

• Salty, spicy, fried and smoked foods.
• Sour and preserved foods, pickles and marinades, as well as those types of products that were made with the help of dyes and preservatives.
• Coffee, tea, sweet carbonated drinks.
• Food products, as well as medicines and vitamin complexes, containing sugar and saccharin.
• Spicy foods and spices – pepper and other seasonings, onions, garlic, horseradish, radishes, sorrel, parsley, horseradish and others.
• Baked goods and pasta, that is, products made from refined flour.
• Alcohol, beer and energy drinks.
• Chocolate and cocoa.
• Tomatoes and products that contain tomatoes.
• Milk, sour cream, cheese and sweet yogurt.
• Oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits, as well as juices made from them.
• Vinegar, soy sauce and mayonnaise.
• Nuts and raisins.
• Bananas, sour apples and sour apple juice, cherries, peaches, plums, avocados.
• Fatty meat, fish and lard.
• Food products containing GMOs.