When you live with the pain that comes with Interstitial Cystitis (IC), you’ll look for anything to make it go away. As an IC patient, that’s what I did!
You find all sorts of information online. Family and friends offer their opinions as they try to help. With all of the information coming your way, it’s hard to know what information to trust.
I see this with my clients, too. Now that I work with those with IC and other bladder diseases, one of the questions my clients frequently ask is, “Should I try a low oxalate diet?”
Like many things with IC, my answer is, “It depends.” Keep reading to find out why.
What is Interstitial Cystitis
Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a chronic condition that causes bladder pain, bladder pressure, and often pain in the pelvic region. It can cause you to feel like you need to pee frequently and only have a dribble of pee come out.
Many people with IC find that following a diet for interstitial cystitis minimizes symptoms. Some of the foods people say you should avoid on an interstitial cystitis diet include coffee, tea, sodas, alcohol, citrus fruits or juices, foods with artificial sweeteners, or spicy foods. While eliminating all of these foods is the general recommendation, that’s not typically what I do with my clients (more about this below).
If the question about a low-oxalate diet comes up, it usually happens when we’re talking about what to eat and what to avoid. When they ask, we talk about what the low oxalate diet is and whether or not it helps those with IC.
What Is a Low Oxalate Diet
Oxalate, or oxalic acid, occurs naturally in many foods and is made in your body. A low-oxalate diet minimizes the amount of oxalate in your diet. It has traditionally been recommended for those with calcium oxalate kidney stones. However, updated guidelines do not recommend a strict low oxalate and do not recommend everyone with oxalate kidney stones restrict dietary oxalate. A strict low oxalate diet could make kidney stones worse.
A low oxalate diet limits eating foods very high in oxalates, such as:
Spinach
Beets
Almonds
Navy beans
Rhubarb
Miso
Calcium & Oxalate
Eating enough calcium is a much more effective way to control urine oxalate levels and prevent oxalate stones. When you eat enough calcium, calcium binds with oxalate from healthy foods in your intestines. Then, oxalate does not get absorbed and will not increase urine oxalate and the risk of kidney stones.
People who eat enough calcium have a 50% lower risk of oxalate kidney stones.
For more about kidney stone nutrition, check out Melanie Betz at The Kidney Dietitian.
Do Some People Use a Low Oxalate Diet With IC?
In the IC support groups I’m in, there are a lot of questions about the low-oxalate diet. People ask about and try it because they’re desperate for relief from their IC symptoms.
While there isn’t any research supporting a low oxalate diet for those with IC, some report their IC symptoms improve following a low oxalate diet. If a low oxalate diet has helped reduce your symptoms, that’s great!
However, there are reasons I don’t recommend a low oxalate diet...
Why I Don’t Recommend a Low Oxalate Diet for People With IC
When working with my clients, we work together and develop a personalized plan to help improve their symptoms. We also look at deeper IC causes, including nervous system dysregulation, pelvic floor dysfunction, or hormone imbalances. Many of my clients have learned that they aren’t diet-sensitive.
In fact, the most common root causes of IC for my clients are nervous system dysregulation and pelvis floor dysfunction. We work to resolve these issues first before starting an elimination diet.
My main concern about adding a low-oxalate diet to an already restrictive IC diet is that it can leave you feeling like there’s nothing you can eat. As a registered dietitian, I want to help people find the least restrictive diet to improve their health. However, as no research shows that a low-oxalate diet makes IC better, I question whether it is necessary.
Again, I want to stress that if a low-oxalate diet works for you, that’s great. But it doesn’t work for everyone.
Here are the three main reasons I don’t recommend a low oxalate diet for those with IC.
Micronutrient Deficiencies & General Health
Because a low-oxalate diet restricts so many good-for-you foods, like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds, it is virtually impossible to get all the vitamins, minerals, and fiber you need. I’m a fan of getting as much nutrition from food rather than supplements. Given all the restricted foods on an IC and low oxalate diet, it can be hard to meet your requirements.
Difficulty Figuring Out Oxalate Content
It is very difficult, if not impossible, to determine exactly how much oxalate you eat. Oxalate is not on Nutrition Facts labels, and there are many conflicting and inaccurate oxalate lists online. Oxalate content differs for each food depending on where it was grown, how long ago it was harvested, and how it was prepared.
Since no research shows that a low oxalate diet improves IC symptoms, I don’t like my clients adding this extra, unnecessary stressor to figuring out what to eat.
Weight Loss
Many people experience unintended weight loss when using an IC and low-oxalate diet together. There simply are not enough foods to eat to get the energy your body needs.
Food Fear
People can develop a fear of food and eating. Some develop an intense fear of eating the wrong thing that will cause pain or a fear of not eating “perfectly.” Unfortunately, food fear, if not addressed early, can develop into an eating disorder.
Want to Try a Low Oxalate Diet? Give It a Try for a Couple of Weeks, But Be Cautious.
If you want to try a low oxalate diet and see if it helps your IC, you can always try it for a week or two. Here’s how I talk about it with my clients:
Start by learning what foods you can eat and those you need to avoid. Then, you can decide whether it is right for you.
Plan a few days of meals so you know you have food to eat ahead of time and will not panic when it comes time to eat.
Set a time limit of a week or two to try it and assess if it’s helping. Remember, you don’t have to stay on it if it isn’t working.
Avoid an incredibly strict low-oxalate diet. Try avoiding only foods very high in oxalate, as a strict low-oxalate diet makes it impossible to get enough fiber and many vitamins and minerals.
While you can try a low-oxalate diet to see if it helps your IC, wouldn’t you rather try something that works? If you’re tired of trying to figure out how to feel better on your own, then my Road to Remission program is perfect for you.
What Really Works
My Road To Remission program offers you both one-on-one and group support so that we can finally minimize your symptoms (and you may even get your IC into remission). Those who join experience less pain in the first three to four weeks, and 60% either reach remission or get close in just 3 months!
What would your life look like if your pain was significantly reduced and your IC was improved considerably? That’s what we work towards in Road To Remission. You can get all the details here.
About the Author
Callie Krajcir, MS, RD, "The Bladder Dietitian®, is a Registered Dietitian specializing in bladder health. Here passion is interstitial cystitis as she has lived with IC her entire life, but she also enjoys helping people with conditions like overactive bladder, chronic UTI’s, and incontinence. She is the founder of Callie K Nutrition, the IC You podcast, and social media accounts (@callieknutrition) that has helped hundreds of people with bladder pain, frequency, and urgency get relief from their symptoms through diet and lifestyle changes. Callie currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Interstitial Cystitis Association. Learn more about Callie and Callie K Nutrition.
Comments