Lemons and tomatoes

[Diane123]

OK, I'm confused. I have been avoiding these 2 foods b/c of the acidity level. However, I have recently read the book PH Miracle and it states lemons and tomotoes although they are acidic they are alkalizing in the body. He recommends to add lemon to all water. I also saw a holistic nutritionist today who agreed with the theory lemons and tomatoes are alkalizing.

I'm wondering how the IC diet list was created?

Thanks
Diane

[Diane123]

Here is a link I found discussing acidic foods and alkaline foods.

http://www.rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm


I'm confused?

[leelee88]

Well, I just know I cannot eat either one! They both cause me horrible pain!

[TexasHoney]

I can't tolerate either one of them. They both make me burn severely.

[Sally939]

i think I read some where that the IC diet is simply a list of foods that a group of IC patients put together as a tool for us to follow. I think the idea is to use it as a guide. There might be some foods you can tolerate on the 'bad" list and some others that are listed as "ok" that cause you pain. that is why they say we are all different and it is really trial and error. Personally, dairy is a killer for me and not for others and I can have a very little tomato but, lemon kills me.

[Diane123]

I guess I have not tried either for so long. It is confusing however. The diet is so restrictive. My symptoms are frequency only. I had it now for 4 months. I never really have a "good" day. I don't know what works and does not. How long does Elmiron take to work?

Is ditropan different from Vesicare? I've been on Vesicare and Detrol La and they both are ineffective. Also on Elavil and vestaril.

[stef000]

I can answer the ditropan question....
Ditropan is in the same class of drugs such as vesicare and detrol....
I found that ditropan is way more effective than detrol since detrol made me incontinent.....
I haven't tried the vesicare though.......
With these drugs, its just like antidepressants......sometimes you try a couple and they don't work and then you try another one and it does work....
Very individual experiences with these types of drugs....
Now generic ditropan(oxybutinin) is cheap and good....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxybutinin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detrol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesicare

heres one that is an oldy but my doc says its real good too.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavoxate

hope this sorta helped....
:hi:

[ICNDonna]

The IC diet was compiled with input from hundreds of IC patients. I'm not sure why, but I do know that acid foods are a problem for me, as they are with most others with IC.

Donna

[Claredale]

Diane, I have read things through the years about IC and yes things about getting your body "balanced", etc. I am not diet sensitive except when it comes to anything citric. I can finally eat a few things that hae citric acid on the label, but only when it is way down at the end of the ingredients which means that there is not much of the ingredient in them. When I was diagnosed with IC. This site wasn't available to me but even my normal uro that I probably one of his very few patients with IC gave me a diet very similar to the one on this site and he explained to me that there would be foods that may not do a thing to me in the way of causing pain. He is the person that explained the elimination diet to me made it quite clear that I should take my time with foods that wen't going to be an irritant. So I ate alot of homemade chicken and dumpling, baked chicken, chicken and rice. I can remember my kids asking what I was fixing for dinner and they were so sick of chicken, but I slowly added other meats (which didn't bother me) then veggies, etc. I kept a very detailed list of what I ate. I drank water for 2 years straight. Not only for IC, but also as a weight loss thing.

I have had IC for 20 years now. Most of my days are quite normal, but I still have issues during the night on most nights unless I take meds to help me sleep. I have chronic insomnia as well, so that didn't help things. I read over some postings on the internet over the last few days and it's almost funny to read some of the logic. Sure it sounds good but I go over everything with my doctor. The thought of acidic food in most ways is when people (they still think IC is so much like UTIs, which most of us know is not the case. But on the other hand there are foods on that list that I have learned that I can tolerate and foods on that list that say ok, but I can't. It's is so much of documenting and watching how your body (bladder may be behaving) as well depending on what we can eat. But under all circumstances, I stay away from most citric foods. I can eat the occasion strawberry or cherry tomatoes, but I have to know how my bladder is doing, plus drink a ton of water. I used to eat strawberries...and knowing it's about to be back in that season doesn't make it easy LOL!.

[Briza]

:)I can eat fresh tomatoes or cooked fresh tomatoes thank goodness b/c they are one of my favorite foods, but cannot eat canned or jarred tomato, marinara sauces or juice. Haven't figured out why but possibly b/c of the concentration and preservatives, salt and such in the store bought sauces and canned tomatoes?? I can eat some plain cheese frozen pizzas that have just a little sauce on them, but not restaurant pizza.
I use fresh lemon and lime juice frequently on my food, but can't drink lemonade.
I never really thought about why, just happy I can have my fresh sliced tomatoes!

[Diane123]

Thanks for the replies. I am a registered dietitian. In school we briefly reviewed irritants to the bladder (caffiene, vinegar etc) but no where did we learn about the IC diet. It is a very restrictive diet and not all that balanced. The fact that there is basically 3 frutis we can chose from is a disaster. I know it is all trial and error however when you pick up Elmiron for thr first time or go see a Uro they give you list of foods and it is not discussed that some maybe be ok for you and others not.

[Briza]

Yes, it does appear very restrictive and very unbalanced at first. When I first saw it I was like no way can I do this and it is definitely not something I would feel woud be healthy to stick with so strictly for the long term. And I agree it is very unfortunate that doctors don't know enough about the diet (probably because they don't have IC themselves and focus mainly on what they can Rx you to get you relief as quickly as possible) to be able to educate their IC patients about the diet more thoroughly than just throwing an Elmiron pamphlet at them and say this is all you can eat, there's no cure, and not elaborate more on how individual the food triggers are to each patient.
But like you said with trial and error, as well as treatment/meds, most of us are able to add enough foods back to be able to eat very healthy, possibly even more so than before we had IC, b/c we end up cutting out a lot of the junk and processed foods.
I knew I was never going to get by w/ just the few fruits you mentioned, but I quickly learned that I was able to eat all fruits, and just about everything else (except the main acidic culprits that you mentioned like coffee, vinegar, alcohol, preservatives, etc.) as long as I accompany them with something considered safe for me...usually some form of protein, whether it be meat, eggs, or cheese, milk, or even a healthy complex carb.
Best wishes :)