Someone asked me to post something on vegetarianism and IC and why I do not treat
vegetarians.

I once was and have a deep respect for those who are vegetarian conceptually. I am a hug
animal lover and myself have several animals.  

After being a vegetarian for years and having been ill myself and having come through all
of my illness and bringing my body into a healthy balance coupled with the years of
experience I have had with IC, I have learned that, at least with my approach to IC,
vegetarianism does not typically combine well with IC. I also have surmised that in many cases it has been a contributing factor to the IC. 

The reasons for this have to do in my opinion, with the lack of animal protein consumption
contributing to the depletion of tissue integrity. We need protein to rebuild our tissues in health
and even more so with disease. The protein from vegetarian source is simply not enough in my opinion.
 
To complicate things further, the sources of higher protein in a vegetarian diet will actually cause pain and symptoms when a person is is the throes of IC. For example, beans and soy are big pain contributors and are withheld for long periods during treatment. Actually, soy is something I recommend staying away from almost completely forever short of a once or twice a month visit to your local Chinese restaurant or sushi bar.
 
Please do not take this as any kind of criticism of vegetarians. As I said, conceptually, I respect them and wish that my journey in life had brought me to the conclusion that it is healthier, but that is not the case. My experience with IC especially and its related conditions has brought me to the conclusion that vegetarianism can be one major cause of IC and can inhibit a person from
achieving a healthy balance.

Reasons for this again are protein depletion not adequately being able to help restore tissue integrity, soy consumption leading to thyroid depletion (see previous studies posted on previous blogs on this site), and over-alkalinity created by a vegetarian diet (just as an over acid environment is not healthy, neither is one that is over-alkaline–pH is meant to be in the middle).

It is to my dismay that I have come to belief that one must be carniverous to be healthy, but, I do believe it is true. That said, everything in moderation, I also believe in lots of healthy vegetable. A little bit of everything brings good balance!