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Nutrition Tips for a Healthy Pelvic Floor

Posted on October 13, 2023October 13, 2023 by Monica

Your pelvic floor is a crucial part of your body that often goes unnoticed until problems arise. It plays a vital role in supporting various functions, including bladder control, sexual function, and overall stability.

Maintaining a healthy pelvic floor is essential for both men and women, and nutrition plays a significant role in its well-being. In this blog post, we’ll explore some nutrition tips to help you keep your pelvic floor in top shape.

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We’re excited to share with you our FREE “Ultimate Guide to Core and Pelvic Floor Health.” This comprehensive guide is your key to a healthier, stronger you. Inside, you’ll discover expert insights, essential exercises, and nutrition tips to transform your core and pelvic floor, unlocking a world of wellness and vitality!

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Why is Pelvic Floor Health Important?

Before delving into nutrition tips, let’s understand why pelvic floor health matters. The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that acts like a sling to support the organs in your pelvis, including the bladder, uterus (in women), and rectum. When these muscles are not working properly, it can lead to various issues, such as incontinence, pelvic pain, and sexual dysfunction.

When addressing our pelvic floor and our physical function it is always important to look at the body holistically. This includes assessing sleep, stress, and yes nutrition. Don’t get me wrong no one is perfect (myself included) but here are some easy tips you can aim for when it comes to diet and nutrition and the pelvic floor.

Nutrition Tips for a Healthy Pelvic Floor:

1.Stay Hydrated: Proper hydration is essential for maintaining bladder health. Drinking enough water can help prevent urinary tract infections and promote regular urination, which can reduce strain on the pelvic floor. Make a conscious effort to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day, and remember to adjust your intake if you’re engaging in activities that cause increased perspiration or fluid loss.

2. Follow a Fiber-Rich Diet: A diet high in fiber can help prevent constipation, a condition that can strain and weaken pelvic floor muscles. Include a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes in your daily meals to maintain healthy bowel movements. Some excellent sources of dietary fiber include apples, berries, broccoli, whole wheat bread, oats, and lentils.

3. Incorporate Lean Protein: Protein is essential for muscle health, including the muscles of the pelvic floor. Incorporate lean sources of protein like chicken, fish, tofu, and beans into your diet to support muscle maintenance and repair. These protein-rich foods also provide important amino acids that aid in overall muscle function and strength.

4. Ensure Adequate Calcium and Vitamin D Intake: Strong bones and muscles are essential for pelvic floor health. Calcium and vitamin D are crucial for bone strength. Include dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese in your diet, as they are excellent sources of calcium. Leafy greens like kale and spinach, as well as fortified foods like cereals and orange juice, can provide additional calcium. To support calcium absorption, expose your skin to sunlight to allow your body to naturally produce vitamin D.

5. Practice Relaxing and Strengthening the Pelvic Floor: While not a nutrition tip, it’s worth mentioning that appropriate strengthening and lengthening exercises can significantly benefit pelvic floor health. These exercises involve contracting and relaxing the pelvic floor muscles. Regular practice, in combination with a balanced diet, can help prevent issues like incontinence. Consult with a healthcare professional or a pelvic floor specialist to learn the correct technique and customize an exercise routine for your specific needs.

6. Limit Caffeine and Alcohol Consumption: Caffeine and alcohol can irritate the bladder, leading to increased urinary frequency and urgency. If you consume these beverages, do so in moderation and be mindful of their potential effects on your pelvic floor health. Consider alternatives like herbal teas or infused water to stay hydrated without relying solely on caffeine-containing beverages.

7. Maintain a Healthy Weight: Excess weight can put extra pressure on the pelvic floor, potentially leading to weakening and pelvic floor dysfunction. A balanced diet and regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight and reduce this risk. Aim for a combination of cardiovascular exercises, strength training, and flexibility training to support overall muscle and bone health.

Grab our FREE “Ultimate Guide to Core and Pelvic Helath”

We’re excited to share with you our FREE “Ultimate Guide to Core and Pelvic Floor Health.” This comprehensive guide is your key to a healthier, stronger you. Inside, you’ll discover expert insights, essential exercises, and nutrition tips to transform your core and pelvic floor, unlocking a world of wellness and vitality!

Grab Your FREE Guide Now!

Remember, a comprehensive approach to pelvic floor health includes both a balanced diet and regular exercise. By following these tips and incorporating them into your lifestyle, you can support the strength and function of your pelvic floor muscles and promote a healthy bladder and bowel function.

Remember that individual dietary needs may vary, so it’s a good idea to consult with a healthcare professional or a nutritionist for personalized advice. Additionally, if you’re experiencing any pelvic floor issues, consider seeking guidance from a pelvic health specialist or physical therapist.

Check out some health recipes here:

In conclusion, a well-balanced diet that supports overall health can have a positive impact on your pelvic floor. By incorporating these nutrition tips and practicing a healthy lifestyle, you can take proactive steps to maintain a strong and functional pelvic floor, preventing problems and ensuring a higher quality of life.Keeping you moving like a mother!

-Dr. Monica

Understanding Pelvic Floor Tension: Causes, Symptoms, and Expert Solutions

Pelvic floor tension is a common yet often overlooked condition that can affect people of all ages and genders. The pelvic floor muscles, a group of muscles situated at the base of the pelvis, play a crucial role in supporting our core, controlling bladder and bowel function, and maintaining overall stability. When these muscles become…
Master the “Knack” and Say Goodbye to Embarrassing Bladder Leaks

Are those unexpected leaks turning moments of laughter, sneezing, or coughing into a frightful experience? It’s time to regain control over your bladder and wave goodbye to those embarrassing mishaps. Today, we’re excited to introduce you to a simple and effective trick for your pelvic floor known as the “Knack” – your secret weapon against…
Nutrition Tips for a Healthy Pelvic Floor

Your pelvic floor is a crucial part of your body that often goes unnoticed until problems arise. It plays a vital role in supporting various functions, including bladder control, sexual function, and overall stability. Maintaining a healthy pelvic floor is essential for both men and women, and nutrition plays a significant role in its well-being.…

Better 4 U Banana Nut Bars

Posted on June 18, 2020July 9, 2020 by Monica

There just ain’t enough time in the day. Amiright? So being able to whip up a healthy snack you can munch on all week long is fab. And these dairy free, gluten free banana nut bars really fit the bill.

So, I don’t know about y’all but every morning I wake up with 57 things in my head that I want to try and get done that day. I’m lucky if I get to a handful of them.

And those beautiful little babies of mine are giant time suckers. I joke that two-thirds of my day is spent making them food, feeding them food, or cleaning up their food. Honestly, that might not be a joke but in fact pretty accurate.

Thank goddddd for nap time. For the mamas that have littles that refuse a nap my heart goes out to you. I like to play a little game of “how much can I get done during nap time”. It’s fun. Depending on the day it’s usually a little exercise, maybe a little cleaning, and a lot of meal prep.

And I work 10 hour shifts Tuesday through Thursday so on Sundays and Mondays I really try and get most of my cooking done for the week. I chop up veggies for dinner, wash all my fruit, prep smoothie bags, make 3 of the same exact salads for my lunches, and often make some sort of snack to eat all week long.

So as I have mentioned in an earlier post I like to make a lot of my own food. A perfect example of this is granola bars. Store bought granola bars can have a lot of extra crap; sugar, preservatives, etc. And when you make your own you can customize them to be what you want. Maybe you are gluten free, dairy free, vegan, nut free, whatever free, these Banana Nut Bars can be customized to fit your diet. These banana nut bars are delicious, healthy, easy, and best of all can be eaten with one hand.

Because that’s how most your meals are eaten when you’re a busy Mom.

Better 4 U Banana Nut Bars:

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas mashed
1 cup rolled oats (gluten free for GF)
½ cup pre rinsed quinoa
⅓ cup raisins (or any dried fruit)
2 tbsp chia seeds
¼ cup almonds
¼ cup chopped pecans
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup nut butter
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper and cooking spray.

Mix together mashed bananas, oats, quinoa, raisins, chia seeds, almonds, pecans, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

In a microwave safe dish add nut butter (I use peanut butter) and microwave 20-30 seconds until runny. Stir in maple syrup and vanilla. Add peanut butter mixture to dry mixture and stir until combined.

Press mixture into the baking dish. I like to press a couple raisins, almonds, and pecans onto the top (because it looks pretty).

Bake for 25 minutes until edges begin to turn golden brown. Remove and let cool in the pan. Remove and cut into 9 squares. These can keep covered on the counter for a few days but I like to wrap tightly and store in the fridge. Enjoy throughout the week!

Substitutions:

GF: Use gluten free oats
DF: There’s no dairy in recipe!
Nut Free: Sub peanut butter for sunflower seed butter; omit nuts
Vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey

Hope you enjoy!

-Monica

How I Eat Healthy (& My Go-To Green Smoothie)

Posted on June 9, 2020October 18, 2020 by Monica

My food thoughts from kale to cake and everything in between

I am no nutrition expert but I like talking about food. And what we put into our bodies plays such a huge role on how our bodies feel and function that I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about food. Plus I’ll jump at any opportunity to share recipes (like my Go-To Green Smoothie) or think about what I’m going to eat next.

I just want to share some of my general thoughts and principles about cooking and eating.

Food thought #1:

I live loosely by the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time I try to make good choices and eat things that I know are good for me and will nourish my body and the other 20% I shove cake, chips, donuts or mac N cheese down my pie hole. Again this is a loose rule. I have good days and bad days. So much of health (and life for that matter) is about balance. I find that the extremes don’t work. I’m all about doing what makes you happy, helps you feel good, and is sustainable. So if some days you don’t eat a darn thing that isn’t the color beige. So be it.

Enter food thought #2:

I try to eat a lot of colors. And nooooo, I’m not talking about my 2 year old’s fruit snacks. I’m talkin red apples, orange sweet potatoes, yellow peppers, green kale, green spinach, green celery. Honestly, when I’m feeling kinda just blah a green smoothie can really perk me up. Heck, it could just be a placebo effect but I swear when I suck down a handful of kale in liquid form I honestly feel better.

Food thought #3:

I try to make small substitutions or additions to my recipes to pack a good nutritional punch. This looks like lentil noodles instead of wheat noodles, greek yogurt instead of sour cream, blending up spinach into my pasta sauce, or when a soup recipe calls for 2 carrots…I throw in 6. Because I’m crazy like that. Also, I feel that if you put anything on a bed of something green and leafy your meal instantly rises in the nutrition ranks. Hot dog salad anyone?

Food thought #4:

I’m a huge fan of making my own food. Honestly my husband and I almost never pick up food or buy anything premade. When you cook your own stuff you know exactly what’s in it and how it was prepared. Homemade pizza dough, marinara sauce, granola bars, salad dressing, are a few things I make on the reg. I know life is crazy busy and it may feel way too time consuming to always be whipping up your own food but I promise it can be super fast and easy.

Food thought #5:

Ok, I debated sharing this one because I don’t want to seem like a giant hypocrite when I’m chowing down pizza on a friday night but I figured I might as well. I generally cook gluten free and somewhat dairy free. By no means do I have allergies to either but I just find I feel better if I lay off the gluten and don’t overdo it on the dairy. These days it’s sooooo easy to find alternatives to gluten and dairy that again it’s just a matter of performing a little swap-a-roo to help make something a little healthier. Now, dairy free cheese sucks. There is no replacement for Wisconsin cheese. Sorry.

Final thoughts:

While I’d love to say that my toddler also eats what we eat including a variety of vegetables and chickpea pasta, that just aint the case despite my best efforts. Most of my recipes and food principles are aimed at adults unless you are blessed with an amazing child that eats anything. But if you want the recipe for my son’s dinner 3-4 nights out of the week here it is:

Ingredients:

1 tortilla
2 tablespoons peanut butter

Spread peanut butter on tortilla. Roll tortilla up. Serve.

Boom. Peanut Butter Roll-Up.

There are so many other things I want to talk about related to eating and nutrition. Like how to avoid the Eating-Your-Toddlers-Left-Overs diet, nutrition during nursing, and proper nutrition for running but I’ll save those for some later posts. Again, to me it’s all about balance. Drink your smoothie in the morning so you can have your cake in the evening.

Below is my recipe for my Go-To-Green smoothie. My husband and I have a smoothie most mornings and I meal prep by making around 4 smoothie bags at the start of the week. That way I just have to pull one bag out of the freezer and pop it in the blender and presto. Smoothie.

Go-To-Green Smoothie:

(makes 2 smoothies…and sometimes enough for another mini toddler sized smoothie)

1.5 ripe banana
1 apple
2 celery stalks
1 big handful of spinach or kale
1.5 tablespoons of peanut butter
Squeeze of lemon

Optional add-ins depending on what’s in my pantry:

Chia seeds
Flax seeds
Medjol dates
Maca powder

Put all ingredients in a blender (or in a quart size freezer bag if making for later). Add 2 cups of water and a few ice cubes (omit ice cubes if pulling from the freezer). Blend until smooth. Drink. Feel like a million bucks.