If you can relate to any of the below, you’ll want to keep reading…

  • I often feel a sudden, intense urge to pee, even if I just went
  • I use the bathroom more than 8 times a day
  • I wake up more than once a night to urinate
  • I sometimes leak urine if I can’t get to the bathroom fast enough
  • I feel anxious about not knowing where the nearest bathroom is
  • I plan outings around bathroom access
  • I avoid exercise, long walks, or travel due to bladder concerns
  • I feel like I’m constantly “going just in case”
  • I notice dribbling or leaking after I’ve already gone
  • I feel like my bladder controls me, not the other way around

Your Gut Is a Garden™… and So Is Your Bladder

One of the things you’ll hear me say over and over is that your “Gut is a Garden™”. 

We know about the gut microbiome, but what’s less talked about is that the bladder also has its own unique microbiome… therefore I’m now expanding my metaphors to include your “Bladder is a Garden™”.

Overactive Bladder in Midlife

Many women, especially in midlife, are struggling with urinary urgency or symptoms of an overactive bladder. And for many of them, doctors say, “We don’t know why it’s happening.” That’s what we call idiopathic, “of unknown cause”.

But new research, including a fantastic article by Dr. Paul Clayton, is showing us that it might be about more than just aging or hormones. It could be tied to microbial imbalances in the bladder, and to something called neuroinflammation, which is essentially the nervous system being overstimulated or on edge. 

What’s fascinating is that the natural compound saffron is showing real promise here!

A Whole-Body Approach to Bladder Symptoms

In over 20 clinical trials, saffron has helped with mood, anxiety, and now, we’re seeing it might calm the bladder too.

It works in a way that’s similar to a drug called ezogabine, which was used for epilepsy and also helped calm an overactive bladder by modulating the GABA system and potassium channels, both of which help tone down nerve signals.

But unlike the drug, saffron is natural, gentle, and has mood-boosting side benefits, which makes it one of those amazing botanicals that could support women’s nervous systems and their bladder function without the side effects of medication. 

What this tells us is that we need to take a functional, whole-body approach to symptoms like urgency or frequency, especially for women navigating menopause. 

The bladder doesn’t exist in isolation. If the gut is inflamed, if the microbiome is disrupted, or if the nervous system is in overdrive, the bladder is going to feel it too. 

Therefore, when we care for the bladder like a garden — restoring balance to the gut, feeding the microbiomes above and below, calming the nervous system with plants like saffron — we’re not just managing symptoms. We’re supporting the body’s ability to regulate itself naturally.

– Dr. Jacqui Fleury ND