Hi, I recently came across you comment on one of my fruit posts (saw it through the notes) about how eating fruit is damaging to your IC. I'm in the makes of writing a post about how "healthy" eating is a dangerous concept because it is used to shame, police and exclude those who for whatever reason can't eat that way and if it is OK with you, can I cite IC as one of those cases in which fruit does more bad than good? I wouldn't mention you, just the condition. (unless you want me to)
This sounds interesting, could you tell me a bit more about how it is a dangerous concept? It’s hard because people tend to think that “healthy” eating is only eating a certain way. In reality, healthy eating is eating in the way that’s best for your body. So even though there are many fruits I can’t eat, I am still able to eat healthy by eating in a way that’s best for MY body. I just have less variety and much more restrictions.
For instance, your picture I reblogged are my favorite fruits, pineapple and kiwi. But they can no longer be a part of my diet. As a vegetarian and someone who has always put a lot of focus on “healthy” eating, it is very sad for me. I don’t necessarily feel bad by others that I don’t eat this way, I just feel sad. Sad because my body can’t handle the foods I love. And yes, sometimes I feel sad because the “healthy eating” habits I’ve had for years need to be broken and replaced with new ones.
With Interstitial Cystitis, there are still some fruits I can have! (mangos, gala apples, blueberries, coconut, etc.) The biggest thing is I can’t have is acidic fruits (pineapple, oranges, kiwi, even some melons). Acid is the number one thing to cut out. That means no coffee, no black or green tea (herbal is fine.) It is also important to note that everyone with IC is different. There are honestly no two cases are the same. For instance, my body can’t handle raspberries or grapes but there are other IC patients who can. Other limitations include potassium intake. A high potassium is one of the worst things you can consume with IC, but of course without potassium your body can’t survive. So you have to find a healthy balance. So if you want a banana, you can only have half. When I want some coconut water, I can only have a little bit. I don’t even drink it now, I just use it for cooking here and there. There are more things that are restricted with an IC diet, though I can’t remember all of the reasons (like I’ve never figured out why I can have Gala apples but not Red Delicious or Green)
There are some vegetables that you can’t have (though there are many you still can, and lucky for me veggies have been my main food source for years.) Like, I can’t handle spinach or green peppers, but other people can. One of the worst things was giving up jalepeños and other spicy peppers. I used jalepeños in EVERYTHING from stir fries and sandwiches to nachos and bagels. But that is one of the worst things you can eat with IC. There are a lot of spices that can trigger you too. Other IC patients seem to handle garlic ok, (fresh garlic is supposed to be IC safe) but for me it always triggers a flare. It’s hard. It’s basically like trial and error to figure out your own body and figure out strict limitations on what to eat. You also have to avoid preservatives, but honestly that is a good thing. But another big thing to avoid is soy products, and that one was hard on me because not only did I have to stop eating the vegetarian products I would buy from the grocery store, but I had to come to the terrible realization that soy is in just about EVERYTHING. Seriously go look at any kind of snack, crackers or cereal or anything, and there will be a soy product in the ingredients. Even some almond milks have soy. Also another big thing is water. We can’t drink just any water. We need spring or distilled because we need a high pH. If the water has a low pH it’s acidic and triggers us. People take for granted how easy it is for them to find water to drink, meanwhile people like me are going to the store weekly and buying 5-10 gallons of spring water while facing cashiers’ snark remarks about “stocking up” or “preparing for the apocalypse.” That kills me.
Eating healthy with IC isn’t impossible. It’s extremely difficult and frankly quite life consuming until you figure out what your body can and can’t handle, but it’s also pretty much vital if we want to keep our condition and symptoms in check. It just may not be obviously “healthy” to others because they don’t see us eating bananas and pineapples in yogurt every day ya know. If people accept that “healthy eating” is eating in the way that’s best for their own bodies, then it would be a much healthier concept and there would not be as much judgement around it as there is.
(Sorry this is so long! Felt it would be best if I explained IC a bit. Go ahead and use it in your post if you want, and you can quote anything I said if you want just source me!)
