Many interstitial cystitis (IC) patients find that diet modification helps to control symptoms and avoid flare-ups. Others note that what they eat or drink seems to have little effect on how they feel. Anecdotal evidence collected by doctors and the Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA) reveals that determining which foods and beverages may act as triggers is an individual matter.
Although these are broad guidelines that most IC patients can follow, discovering which particular foods may cause you problems requires perseverance. Many IC patients report that restricting their diet is an effective form of treatment and believe that it is worth the effort.
If you would like to explore the role diet may play in your symptoms, it is best to begin with an elimination diet that includes only those foods and beverages listed in the "okay to try" sections, which most IC patients report they can tolerate. Try eating several small meals instead of one large one. Keeping a diet diary where you record everything you eat and drink is a useful technique for monitoring diet. After a few weeks, start introducing the foods and beverages listed in the "avoid" sections, one at a time. If, after consuming a given food or beverage, you have no flare-up in symptoms, you should be able to continue consuming this item without problems. If any symptoms do occur, eliminate the given food from your diet.
After you have completed the work of determining which foods and beverages to eliminate from your diet, you may find that you can tolerate some troublesome items on a rotation basis. Try introducing these foods and beverages in small amounts once every five to seven days. If symptoms do not flare excessively, this can be a good alternative to giving up favorite foods entirely.
Discovering which foods and beverages you should restrict can be a lengthy process that requires discipline. You may also want to consider working with a nutritionist and/or a specialist in food and environmental allergies.
The idea behind managing your diet is to avoid foods and beverages that may irritate your bladder. Here is a list of some of the suggested items to restrict, followed by foods and beverages that a number of IC patients have noted do not cause them problems.
Milk/Dairy Products
aged cheeses, sour cream, yogurt and chocolate
white chocolate, non-aged cheeses such as cottage or American, frozen yogurt and milk
Vegetables
fava beans, lima beans, onions, tofu, soy beans & soy-based products, and tomatoes
other vegetables, beans, green onions/chives, and home grown tomatoes (which may be less acidic)
Fruits
apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, cantaloupes, citrus fruits, cranberries,
grapes, nectarines, peaches, pineapples, plums, pomegranates, rhubarb,
strawberries and juices made from these fruits
melons (other than cantaloupes), blueberries and pears
Carbohydrates and Grains
rye and sourdough bread
other breads, pasta, potatoes and rice
Meats and Fish
aged, canned, cured, processed or smoked meats and fish, anchovies, caviar
chicken livers, corned beef, and meats that contain nitrates or nitrites
other poultry, fish and meat
Nuts
most nuts
almonds, cashews and pine nuts
Beverages
alcoholic beverages (including beer and wine); carbonated drinks such as sodas; coffee or tea
and fruit juices, especially citrus or cranberry juice
non-carbonated bottled water, decaffeinated, acid-free coffee and tea, and some herbal teas
Seasonings
mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, salsa, spicy foods (especially such ethnic foods as Chinese, Indian,
Mexican and Thai), soy sauce, miso, other soy-based condiments, salad dressing and vinegar,
including balsamic and flavored vinegars
garlic and other seasonings
Preservatives and Additives
benzol alcohol, citric acid, monosodium glutamate (MSG), artificial sweeteners such as aspartame
Nutrasweet) and saccharine, foods containing preservatives and artificial ingredients and colors.
Miscellaneous
tobacco, caffeine, diet pills, junk foods, recreational drugs, cold and allergy medications containing
ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, and certain vitamins.
Although the list of foods to avoid may initially appear daunting, remember that there are still many foods you can enjoy. Some IC patients report that they have the least trouble with lightly seasoned rice, potatoes, pasta, vegetables, meat, and chicken. With these foods as a base for your diet, you can create nutritious and flavorful meals. You can still cook for family and friends and share meals with them because the foods you can eat are the basic elements of a healthful, balanced diet. However, you may need to make some minor adjustments, such as setting your serving aside before adding stronger seasonings. You may also want to consider adding a source of fiber to your diet to promote regular bowel movements.
With some imaginative effort, you should be able to come up with substitutions for your favorite foods and drinks which will not aggravate your symptoms.
Here are a few suggestions:
• Learn to read labels. Ordinarily, the fewer ingredients in a product, the safer it is likely to be.
• Add a pinch of salt to carbonated beverages to make them flat.
• Boil down all sauces containing alcohol.
• Try reduced-acid orange juice now available in supermarkets.
• Try Prelief®, a dietary supplement containing calcium glycerophosphate, which has been shown in research studies on IC patients to help reduce bladder pain and urinary urgency when used with acidic foods and beverages. For more information, call 1-800-994-4711 or go to http://www.prelief.com/.
• Try Cysta-Q® and Prosta-Q®, dietary supplements that have been shown in clinical studies to reduce the urinary urgency, frequency, and pain of IC and nonbacterial prostatitis. For more information, call 1-877-284-3976 or visit http://www.cystaq.com/ or http://www.prostaq.com/.
• Desert Harvest® Whole-Leaf Aloe Vera capsules have been shown in a clinical trial to reduce the pain, frequency, and urgency associated with interstitial cystitis, painful bladder syndrome, chronic pelvic pain, and nonbacterial prostatitis. Capsules are made in a special concentration not available in your local health food store brands. For full study results check http://www.desertharvest.com/ or call 800-222-3901 for more information and a free sample.
Once you have determined which foods cause you trouble, you should be able to eat in restaurants or at social gatherings without too much difficulty. You will simply need to ask about ingredients or stay away from dishes where ingredients are hard to discern. Spicy ethnic foods can pose a problem when dining out because the spices used may cause the release of trouble-making histamines. The ingredients in these dishes are often difficult to determine as well. Before ordering, ask your waiter what spices are used in particular dishes.
Doctors find that some IC patients have additional symptoms that are caused by food allergies. Allergies to wheat, corn, rye, oats and barley are common. Other patients with milk allergies and lactose intolerance may experience a severe response to these foods. Although the existence of systemic yeast or "yeast syndrome" remains controversial in the medical community, a number of IC patients report success with a yeast-free diet which eliminates yeast, most carbohydrates, sugar, cheeses, molds, alcohol and fermented foods. If you suspect that food allergies play a role in your IC symptoms, you should consult a doctor or nutritionist who specializes in food and environmental allergies.
If you have eaten an irritating food or tried a new dish only to discover afterwards that it has brought on symptoms, take one teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water. This helps to alkalinize the urine and prevent the acids in urine from irritating the bladder. Some patients take baking soda as a preventative before consuming problematic foods. Those who have heart conditions, high blood pressure, or other medical conditions affected by salt intake should consult their doctors before taking baking soda because of its high salt content. If you have a flare in symptoms after eating, you should also drink plenty of water to dilute the urine.
Making the changes necessary in the diet to help control IC is a challenge, as are so many aspects of this disease. Don't get discouraged if you do not discover your ideal diet even after a few weeks of trial and error. The process takes time and patience, but if you are like many others with IC, it may pay off in a reduction in your symptoms.
Unfortunately, there is not one line of vitamins that works for all IC patients. Little to no research has been conducted in this area. In fact, if you are going to take vitamins, it is suggested that you purchase individual vitamins separately, as opposed to buying multivitamins. This way you can better control what you are consuming.
1. Vitamin C, because it is acidic, can cause IC flares. Ester-C, a pH balanced (acid-neutralized) version of C, may be an option for IC patients. It was originally developed for people with stomach problems. However, start out with small doses. Some IC patients are so sensitive that they cannot even tolerate Ester-C.
2. The B-Complex vitamins, for reasons not clearly understood, can also cause problems with IC. You may want to try taking B vitamins individually, instead of a B-complex formula.
3. The fat soluble vitamins (A, D E, and K) should pose no problems. Minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, are also usually well-tolerated by most IC patients.
4. Again, it is probably best to purchase vitamin supplements separately, instead of in a multivitamin formula.
A Taste of the Good Life: A Cookbook for an Interstitial Cystitis Diet by Beverly Laumann, available for purchase through the ICA’s Resource Materials Guide.
Other Brochures Available Through the ICA:
- General IC Brochure*
- IC & Diet Brochure*
- IC & Sex Brochure
- IC & Men Brochure
- Vulvar Pain Brochure
* Spanish Language Version also available either in print or on our website