Healthy Snack Warning

A warning about "Healthy Food." Be aware that many healthy foods are healthy because of their lack of processed sugar but that means sugar substitutes are at hand and they can be quite a challenge for IC sufferers. We have found trouble at foot with the ingestion of many sugar substitutes such as evaporated cane juice, any grape or raisin concentrate sweetener and chemically derived artificial sweeteners. If you are relatively sure you don't have an overgrowth of candida aggravating your symptoms, you would be better off to consume small amounts of sugar than to ingest some of these substitute sweeteners.

Heat For the Pelvis

Sister 2 has been getting an immediate pain reduction from taking hot baths. I feel like the nerves that are sending my brain pain signals get put to work sending my brain temperature signals. A very welcome change! Warm, warm, warm...

Sister 1 uses a heating pad at night to relax muscles in the pelvic region. When we are in pain, we hold our bodies differently and tend to tense muscles in an effort to protect what we perceive as an injured area. This often unconscious response sets up more healing challenges, and chronic muscle tension has for sure complicated my IC. I have been working with a physical therapist on the pelvic muscles and believe the work has cured me of the retention issues I was having. I have not had a retention episode in several months. The muscular component is another reason why warmth, exercise, and relaxation help.

Restaurant Food

What in the world do restaurants put in their food? I just experienced a pain spike to 7 after eating at a HOSPITAL cafeteria. Sister 1 told me that buffets are famous for making their food shine with ascorbic acid. Another foe, msg is frequently used to preserve buffet food. I think my chicken and potatoes must have had ascorbic acid on them. Pounded down 5 glasses of water, drank baking soda water. Took about an hour and a half, but I am feeling fine again. When you are in a flare up it is important to know what is going into your body. Avoid dining out until you are back in control of your symptoms. Love, Sister 2.

Recipe for Sweet and Delicious Oatmeal

Serving size: 1

1 C Water
dash Salt
1/2 C Quaker Oats Old-Fashioned Oatmeal
Milk
Butter
100% Pure Maple Syrup

Bring water and salt to a boil. Pour in oatmeal, and reduce heat. Cook until water is absorbed. Pour oatmeal into a bowl. Melt a pat of butter on top. Add milk and maple syrup to taste. Enjoy!

Buffets and Other Food on Display

A fun-filled trip to Las Vegas turned painful one night, and I couldn't figure out what I had done wrong. It scares me when there seems to be no reason for my pain. I imagine myself feeling that bad with no control over it, and I can't imagine living that way. However, when I told Sister 1 what I had done that day, she immediately zeroed in on the fact that we had eaten at one of Las Vegas's famous all-you-can-eat buffets.

Ascorbic acid is commonly used on display foods to preserve their fresh appearance. So, food that we typically think of as healthy can be very unhealthy, such as salad bars and fish from the display case. Last night I ate black olives, "a bladder friendly food" according to the ICN diet. Pain spiked after my first pee after the olives. This morning, "duh...they were on display!!!" Well, at least I figured it out.

If you had a pain spike that you could not identify a cause for, tell us about it in the Get Answers section at the bottom of the blog. We will try to help you identify a trigger, so you can avoid it in the future.

Nitrites

A carefully planned Christmas breakfast goes wrong. After much thought about a low sugar, low acid way to celebrate, the following menu was chosen: bagels, cream cheese, and lox. So, why did I need a Vicodin three hours later? My first pee after eating the wrong thing always tells me I am in trouble. I looked at the ingredients list on the lox, and started some internet research. Nitrites looked like the culprit. I consulted with Sister 1, and she confirmed that preserved meat is a big no-no. Okay. Learned that one the hard way. Love, Sister 2.

Current Research

My current efforts to feel normal have me back attempting the Candida diet and reading The PH Miracle by Robert O. Young, PhD and Shelley Redford Young. The premise of the book is that our diet creates an acidic environment in our bodies which contributes to a host of ailments which he sources back to an overgrowth of toxic microforms such as Candida. So the book fits into my experience with IC in that it cites sugar as the enemy. I will keep you posted as to how the diet works for my symptoms as I get further along with it. If you are at all interested in the Candida topic I can tell you it is a great resource. The complication comes when you try to add new parameters to an already severely restricted diet. We will post recipes that address both IC and Candida as we discover them!

Recipe for Fried Rice

Serving Size: About 4


1C whole grain brown rice, cooked

2T canola oil
3/4 C mixed veggies, fresh or frozen
1 or 2 eggs

Cook one cup of whole grain brown rice according to the instructions on the package.

Heat 2T hot oil in frying pan over med-high heat. Add the rice.

Add vegetables cut to bite size pieces. Leafy green veggies such as spinach and kale are a great source of vitamin B which is less tolerable to most IC bladders in supplement form. Green onion can be tollerated easier than white and garlic is safe and flavorful.

Once veggies are softened, clear a center in the pan and add one or two eggs. Stir the eggs in the center of the rice and veggie mixture until they begin to coagulate then mix the entire pan together. Stir until eggs are thoroughly cooked. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Tight Pants

Oh, how I hate to say it. Pressure on my pelvis makes a big difference in how I feel. I love to wear flattering clothes. Is this why the muumuu was invented? Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all.