Most elderly people have the problem of frequent urination. They have to get up at night, can't sleep well, and feel tired during the day. So what is the cause of frequent urination and how should elderly people adjust their diet?
I: Dietary Therapy for Frequent Urination in the Elderly
1. Stir-fried Chives with Walnuts
Stir-fry 30g of walnuts in oil, mix with 200g of chopped chives and some shrimp, season with salt and serve. It can nourish the kidneys and strengthen yang.
2. Pig Bladder Soup
Take one pig bladder, 20g each of lotus seeds and foxnuts, 6g of Tianqi slices or 3g of Tianqi powder, half a piece of dried tangerine peel. Boil the ingredients together to make a soup. It can strengthen the spleen, solidify the kidneys, disperse stasis, and reduce urination.
3. Stewed Silkworm Pupae
Take 25g of silkworm pupae and walnuts each, 15g each of foxnuts and Dangshen, 5 white nuts (ginkgo biloba), and 1 slice of ginger. Stew and serve. It can nourish the lungs, spleen, and kidneys, and reduce urination while warming the waist.
4. Bamboo Chicken Soup
Take a quarter of a chicken, remove the skin, stir-fry 10g of Epimedium with saltwater, and stir-fry 15g of Eucommia with saltwater (to enhance the flavor of the herb), 15g of Chinese yam. Boil all the ingredients together to make a soup. It can nourish the kidney yang and warm without causing dryness.
II: Causes of Frequent Urination
1. Increased urine volume:
When the urine volume increases, the frequency of urination also increases accordingly. Under normal physiological conditions, if you drink a lot of water, eat watermelon, or drink beer, the increased intake of fluids will result in increased urine volume and frequency of urination. In pathological conditions, patients with partial diabetes or diabetes insipidus drink a lot of water and have increased urine volume and frequency of urination, but they do not feel discomfort during urination.
2. Inflammation stimulation:
When there is inflammation in the bladder, the urination center is in an excited state, resulting in frequent urination and reduced urine volume. Therefore, frequent urination is an important symptom of bladder inflammation, especially in acute cystitis and tuberculous cystitis. Other conditions such as prostatitis, urethritis, pyelonephritis, chronic phimosis in children, and vulvitis can also cause frequent urination. Under inflammation stimulation, frequent urination, urgent urination, and painful urination often occur simultaneously, known as urinary tract irritation, commonly called "3 urinary symptoms".
III: Dietary Considerations
1. Foods to eat
For frequent urination, the body loses more potassium, so foods rich in potassium should be supplemented, such as mushrooms, cabbage, beans, peanuts, walnuts, watermelons, bananas, etc. Fruits that can treat frequent urination caused by prostatitis include apples, figs, lychees, kiwis, and lotus seeds. Warm and nourishing astringent foods. Foods suitable for those with insufficient kidney qi include glutinous rice, Epimedium, fish maw, yam, lotus seeds, chives, black sesame, longan, and dried plums. Clear and nourishing foods. Foods suitable for those with excessive liver and gallbladder fire include glutinous rice, coix seed, yam, lotus seeds, Epimedium, tofu, tremella, mung beans, red beans, and duck meat.
2. Foods to avoid
Eat less diuretic foods such as watermelon, winter melon, red beans, grapes, corn, coix seed, adzuki beans, and carp. Milk, chocolate, oranges, and tangerines. These foods can cause allergic reactions in children, causing the bladder wall to expand, reduce capacity, and promote smooth muscle roughening and spasms. At the same time, this allergic reaction can cause deep sleep in children, unable to wake up when urinating, leading to bedwetting. Spicy and irritating foods. Children's nervous system is immature and easily excitable. If they consume these foods, it can cause dysfunction of the cerebral cortex and bedwetting. Excessive salt, sugar, and cold foods. Excessive salt and sugar can cause polydipsia and polyuria, and cold foods can weaken the spleen and stomach function, which is not beneficial to the kidneys, so they should be avoided.
