With eating and drinking with pelvic issues, we mean the right nutrition for pelvic instability, pelvic pain or other pelvic issues. Nutrition with pelvic issues consists mainly out of eating what’s important. Eat moderately, and with variety. Think about nuts, fruit, water, and a lot of fresh vegetables. You should drink at least 2 liters of water a day when you have pelvic issues, because your cells are surrounded by liquid and those give strength to your muscles. The liquid level in the body is important. With the right diet and pelvic floor exercises, you can strengthen your pelvic floor quickly and effectively. 

What are pelvic issues? 

 

Pelvic issues are painful issues that you can develop during or after pregnancy. It mainly has to do with pelvic pain while moving your body. It commonly occurs with pregnant women, but an accident can also cause these issues. With pelvic issues, also named pelvic instability, you often have trouble with moving, you experience pain after sitting or lying too long, and it’s dangerous to make rotating movements because you can increase your issues this way. 

 

Drinking with pelvic issues 

You must be wondering what you can drink with pelvic issues. It’s recommended to mainly drink water when you experience pelvic issues. Water is healthy and keeps your hydration levels up. 60% of your body consists out of water and if that decreases, your body will start to dehydrate. You can also drink juice with vitamin D, but preferably with a low amount of sugar. Tea is also good for you, but preferably sugar free. 

 

Why drinking water with pelvic issues is important 

Drinking water with pelvic issues is important because damaging particles in your body gets carried off by the water in one go. Apart from that, drinking water is important because all of the cells in your body are being surrounded by liquid. Your wounds and injuries can heal and it gives firmness to your cells. It also helps to keep your intestines moist and it prevents obstipation. Water makes sure that everything passes properly so you don’t experience incontinence or obstipation. Try to drink 1,5 liter of water on the daily to keep your body healthy. That’s how you can help your pelvic issues. 

 

How much do you need to drink with pelvic issues? 

It’s recommended to drink 2 liters of water a day to provide firmness and strength to your cells. Preferably 3 liters a day is recommended, but sometimes it can be heavy to take in that much water. Why do you need to drink 2 liters of waters with pelvic issues? Well, your muscles absorb the water, that way they become stronger and more powerful. Your joints are being greased better and this helps with pelvic issues. 

 

Eating with pelvic issues 

Having a good metabolism starts with nutrition, but what can you eat with pelvic issues? Because of the amount of hormones in meat, it’s better to avoid that. If you really want to eat meat, then replace it with biological meat. Primarily, eat fruit and vegetables. Fruit and vegetables are healthy because it contains a lot of vitamin C, and vitamin C is good for your resistance. Apart from fruit and vegetables, wholegrain products are also recommended. Especially products that are beneficial for your intestines, like olive oil and wholegrain products, have green lights for pelvic issues. So, eat a lot of products that contain a lot of fibres. 

 

When can I eat with pelvic issues? 

Try to make a plan for when you’re about to eat with pelvic issues. Why? Because you have to make sure that you don’t eat too much on one day and you have to keep an eye on whether your food is healthy or not. There are 3 important moments where you need to eat: in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. You can also have something in between once a day, but only if that’s fruit. Take normal sized portions and take slow and small bites. It isn’t beneficial for your stomach and intestines when you chew and swallow too fast. 

 

The 4 moments to eat with pelvic issues 

In the previous paragraph I’ve already told you that you have 3 important moments to eat, and 1 moment for something in between. In the chart below you can find food that you can eat during any of those moments.

 

	Breakfast	Lunch	In between	Dinner
Seeds/nuts		X
Fruit	X	X	X
Vegetables		X	X	X
Meat				X
Fish				X
Grain products	X		X
Dairy products	X	X	X
Tea	X	X	X	X
Water	X	X	X	X
Juice		X

 

Eating and drinking with fecal incontinence 

With fecal incontinence you often suffer from pelvic floor muscles that are too tense or overactive. Overactive pelvic floor muscles causes fecal incontinence. When you consume foods that are free from vitamins or fibers, you have a big chance of developing obstipation. What happens then? Your feces heap themselves up in the intestines and slowly push, without your consent, your stools out of your body. So do keep an eye on your feeding pattern to prevent fecal incontinence. This can also happen with a weak pelvic floor, because the pelvic girdle can’t close properly, and in turn it makes you unwillingly lose stool. So consume a lot of liquids, and eat a lot of products with fibers. 

 

Eating and drinking with urine leakage 

Eating and drinking with urine leakage while having pelvic issues can sometimes feel very annoying. The pelvic floor muscles close the urethra, but during urine leakage the urethra isn’t closed off properly. This causes unwanted urine leakage. To make sure you have a good urine cycle, you need to eat properly. But if you eat too much, your stomach can become heavy and put pressure on your bladder. This causes you to have a constant urge to pee. Next to that, you also get a stabbing pain in the lower back or in the pelvis. When you drink enough water, the urine will flow easier and a bladder infection will be prevented. This occurs with an overactive and a weak pelvic floor. So keep drinking primarily water and/or tea, so you stay healthy. 

 

5 tips for good toilet behavior with pelvic issues 

1. 1. Sit up straight on the toilet 
      Try to sit up straight as much as possible when you go to the toilet. If necessary, lean with your back against the toilet lid, so your back is supported. Keep your feet in front of you and flat on the ground and rest your hands on your knees. This isn’t only beneficial for your posture on the toilet, but it also helps your bowel movement to struggle less. When you’re going to sit with pelvic instability, always sit up straight.  

2. 2. Always tilt your pelvis when you pee 
      Sometimes you think that you’re done urinating, but if you lean forward, a drop might still fall down. This means that your pelvis hasn’t closed off your urethra yet, because you’re not done yet. After urinating, try to lean forwards and backwards to make sure that you don’t have urine leakage when you get up and walk away. 

3. 3. Tense up the pelvic floor muscles 
      By tightening up/tensing up your pelvic floor muscles while you stand up from the toilet, you properly close off the openings of your urethra and you can stand up safely without losing urine. 

4. 4. An arched back during number two 
      When you poop, you need to make sure that you have an arched back. Your pelvis will get into the right position and you can lose your feces easier. Your anus will also become longer and because of that your stools will come out easier as well. 

5. Try to relax on the toilet 
   When the urge is there to pee or poop, then go. Don’t hold it in. When you sit on the toilet, try to not go all out with pushing everything out. When you push you don’t relax, but instead you tense up. The urethra narrows and the same counts for the anus. This only increases the abdominal pressure and then it will become harder to poop or pee. 

You can find more information about toilet behavior in this article. 

 

Healthy intestines through eating and drinking with pelvic issues 

By consuming healthy foods, you are preventing pelvic issues because you aren’t creating any fecal incontinence. A good passage in the intestinal tract prevents clogging and gives a better feeling. The opening of your anus keeps closed and you won’t have to deal with any unwanted feces. 

 

Good foods for pelvic issues 

I will sum up a few products below that will help you with having a healthy and balanced intestinal flora. By eating as healthy as possible, you’re preventing clogging in the intestinal tract and you’re not creating pressure on the pelvic girdle. 

1. Seeds 
2. Wholegrain foods 
3. Vegetables 
4. Fruits 
5. Nuts 
6. Legumes 
7. Olive oil 

The next chart shows how much of each nutrient you can consume on a daily basis, and whether it’s good or bad for your body and intestinal tract. 

 

Feeding pattern chart  

 

Food/nutrients	Amount of portions	Good, moderate, or bad	Tips/notes
Seeds/nuts	1 handful a day	Good	You can eat them as a standalone, but you can also add them to salads or yoghurt.
Fruits	2 pieces of fruit	Good	Take small bites and vary from time to time.
Vegetables	250 grams/1 cup	Good	Chew properly, variate in cooking, wok and grill.
Meat	2x a week	Moderate	Don’t take too much meat and don’t take raw meat.
Fish	4x a week	Good	Fish is healthy, but do choose e.g. salmon or tuna.
Dairy products	2 glasses of milk a day and 2 eggs a week	Moderate	Dairy products aren’t healthy per se. Take a look at plant based dairy. It’s much healthier and often just as delicious.
Wholegrain products	2 portions a day	Good	Wholegrain products come in all shapes and sizes, e.g. wholegrain pasta, wraps or bread.
Tea	X	X	X
Water	1500ml/50 oz a day (depends on the weight)	Good	Make sure that your water isn’t too chilled and drink before you have to urinate.
Juice	2 glasses a day	Moderate	Juice contains a lot of vitamins, but also a lot of sugar. Keep an eye on it!

 

And lastly, are you looking for more information? 

Hopefully this information was useful to you! We’ve discussed what you can eat and drink when you have pelvic issues, when you can eat and drink, and how to improve your toilet behavior. If you’re still looking for some more information, feel free to take another look around on the website. It’s filled with in-depth information, tips, a web shop and also exercises. I still have a lot of articles with lots of information about other symptoms and issues. Feel free to click on the blue words to take you straight to the right page.