Lemon Juice?

[jeri l]

A vegan told me that lemon juice turns into an alkaline when ingested, is it ok to use? It would be great in water and with olive oil for salads. Does anyone flare with this? what you think?

[kadi]

DON'T DO IT! Lemon juice & other citrus juices are terrible for the IC bladder. *
Our bladders react to much more than just the acid/alkaline balance.
Your best bet & the one most researched for IC patients is the IC diet.

Here is a link where you can download the diet.
http://www.ic-network.com/diet/dietcheatsheet.html

I recommend eating only out of the "bladder friendly" column for a month, with careful label reading to make sure your foods do not contain problematic preservatives & chemicals (listed in the "caution" column), and then to branch out into the "try it" column testing one food at a time.

*If you need a salad dressing, you can try pear juice & canola or olive oil, with a pinch of dried basil. Blueberry juice & oil is good also. You can also put a little cottage cheese into a blender with a few safe herbs like garlic & dill & use that as a dressing. I'm ok with Marie's Lite Creamy Ranch dressing (available in the refrigerated section of the produce dept at Safeway or Lucky's) in a very small amount - a teaspoonful on the side of the plate, dipping my fork in it before bites of salad...

[jeri l]

Thank you for your response. I have been going by the diet since diagnosed 1 month ago. But I am feeling pretty deprived. I love salads and really miss them. It is hard watching other people eat things that I dearly love and miss. I have been hurting for the last 10 days which has made things more miserable.

Just keep trying to find something that I can eat and not feel so stinkin deprived. At work they whine about not being able to quit smoking and how hard it is to go without cigarettes....how I wish my problem was that simple. It is getting on my nerves.

Just a minor pitty party. I'll get over it and forge ahead since there isn't much options. My diet is so boring and I miss things a lot.

[Briza]

jeri I can't say this for others but I've always been able to tolerate a squirt of lemon or lime on my salad or seafood. A glass of lemonade? no... but just a squirt has never seemed to bother me.

This is not something I tried til I had been on the diet a good year and knew well my food triggers. If you are just starting on the diet you probably don't want to try it now, just trying to give you some hope for the future. most people are able to expand their diets at some point. If not to include citrus then at least to include many of the other things that they missed while doing the elimination diet!

Odds are your diet in a year will not be as restricted as it is at this moment.

[ICNDonna]

Even after 35 years with IC, I still can't tolerate lemon or lime juice at all.

Donna