Bladder-Friendly Bevvies for the Holidays

The Powder Room gets festive with cocktail recipes

TORONTO, Dec. 1 /CNW/ - With holiday office parties and family get-togethers fast approaching, the Powder Room - a national education program for people with overactive bladder (OAB) - has partnered with cocktail stylist - the Cocktail Deeva - to create bladder-friendly cocktail recipes that can help those experiencing OAB symptoms get festive this holiday season.

"The holiday season can be a lonely time for those with OAB symptoms," says Fran Stewart, a nurse continence advisor at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. "People shouldn't have to limit social activity and not go somewhere because of their symptoms. Lifestyle modification techniques such as drinking bladder-friendly liquids don't have to be boring either - there are great bladder-friendly recipes available."

Dee Brun - the Cocktail Deeva, expert mixologist and author of the award-winning book Libations of Life: A Girl's Guide to Life One Cocktail at a Time, suggests using cranberry juice or mango puree, clear sodas and soothing herbs like basil and mint to concoct your holiday cheer this year. "With a few simple twists, bladder-friendly cocktails can make you feel the toast of any party."

Cocktail Deeva divine cocktail recipes include:

Under the Mistletoe Martini

4 ounces peach & white grape juice blend
2 ounces lychee juice
Pinch of cilantro

Muddle cilantro with 1 ounce of lychee juice. Once muddled add - along with the rest of ingredients - to shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain all ingredients into glass and garnish with a thin slice of fresh peach.

Peace of Earth Punch

3 ounces pomegranate juice
2 ounces pineapple juice
5 fresh raspberries

Muddle raspberries with 1 ounce of pineapple juice. Once muddled add - along with the rest of ingredients - to shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain all ingredients into glass and garnish with a few sprigs of fresh chive.

It's Tinsel Time Tartini

3 ounces white cranberry juice
2 ounces mango juice
5 fresh blueberries
Fresh mint leaves

Muddle blueberries with a couple of mint leaves and 1 ounce of white cranberry juice. Once muddled add - along with the rest of ingredients - to shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain all ingredients into glass and garnish with a few mint leaves and mango wedge.

*All cocktails can be served on the rocks or straight up.

All the recipes can be found at www.powderroom.ca. Since 2006, the Powder Room has worked to improve the quality of life of individuals with OAB by helping them to understand, manage and treat their condition. The website offers lifestyle modification techniques such as how to identify fluids which can improve or worsen OAB symptoms. With 28 per cent of Canadians having an urge to urinate that is sometimes difficult to put off, and 30 per cent urinating more than 8 times in a 24-hour period, helpful suggestions like reducing caffeine intake and avoiding dark colas and sodas can help those experiencing symptoms gain confidence and increase their holiday cheer.¹

About OVERACTIVE BLADDER

Overactive bladder affects approximately 12 to 18 per cent of Canadians. ² The sudden "urge" to urinate, even when the bladder is not full, is the primary symptom of overactive bladder and not—as some believe— incontinence (urine leakage). ³

About the Powder Room

The Powder Room is a national and fully bilingual educational program developed in collaboration with Canadian healthcare professionals. The program works to improve the quality of life of individuals with overactive bladder by helping them to understand, manage and treat the condition. For more information on overactive bladder, visit www.powderroom.ca. The Powder Room has been made possible through an education grant from Astellas Pharma Canada, Inc., a leader in the field of urology.

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¹ Leger Marketing, on behalf of the Powder Room, OAB Omnibus Survey.

² Kelleher C, et al. Improved Quality of Life in Patients with Overactive Bladder Symptoms treated with Solifenacin. BJU International 2005; 95:81-85.

³ Wein A, Rackley, R. Overactive Bladder: A Better Understanding of Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Management. J Urology 2006; 175:S5-S10.

For further information:

For more information or to arrange an interview with an OAB expert or overactive bladder patient contact: