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Still trying to get my head about food and 'flares' - does it mean if you eat something that doesnt agree with your bladder, does it mean you yourself have an allergy or an intolerance to the food or does it mean your bladder has it? Do these intolerances go away over time as the body and bladder heals up so that eventually you can eat whatever you want (within reason)? So that means they arent true allergies/intolerances?
Sorry for the clueless question, I am not starting treatment for a while as working on food issues generally (which are going really well) and trying to understand this whole process with the lists.
foods and flares
Hi Taz,
While I don't understand the ins and outs of the whole thing. What I can tell you is that, for whatever reason, over time, you will eat most foods again. I can eat tomato sauce, again, without it bothering me. Although, I don't eat it as much as I used to - just don't seem to want it all that often. I will never again eat certain things, such as mushrooms, or sugar - now will I eat any artifical sweetners. This morning, for breakfast, I scrambled an egg in with broccolli and brown rice - the taste of the food was heavenly - It's like I can taste again. I often make a dinner salad with chopped up broccoli, brown rice, fetta cheese, a little olive oil, lemon juice, and crushed fennel with sea salt - I gobble it like the crazy person that I used to be when I gobbled chocolate cake. While all this food may not be on the list that you're on - you will learn to really taste what you're eating.
So, I guess this doesn't really answer much that you're asking, and as you're speaking to someone who has worrying down to a scientific art that can grab ahold of my head in the most insane ways, I so understand trying to gain control and understanding in order to feel safe, with all the respect that I have for someone else suffering, can I offer a little advice? You're safe here, you will find your way. I would breathe and concentrate on making list 1 a gourmet treasure, list 2 even better, and so on ....
So, dear Taz, I am going to try to start the day off with my own advice - to live in the moment and try to keep my brain there with me.
All my best,
As I understand it
As I understand it, flaring on a food means both....it's an irritant to your bladder, yes, but also on a larger level there's an intolerance (but not permanent allergy) by the overall body system, since to Matia, IC isn't strictly a bladder issue but also a whole-body imbalance/illness. Matia has repeatedly said that most foods that people could not tolerate or tested positively for allergies beforehand (or both) end up tolerated just fine after her treatment. But things like alcohol and sugar (and also excesses of processed/unhealthy foods) are a different story. They seem to be beyond just allergy/intolerance b/c they are either unnatural to the body or have properties such as mold-/bacteria-producing (or both), so to Matia they actively create illness/imbalance esp in those w/ chronic illness. So even if you get so healthy & strong after treatment, going back to alcohol/sugar/etc. may incite the illness/imbalance again.