Coconut Aminos: A Soy Sauce Substitute for Asian Dishes (Bladder & Interstitial Cystitis Friendly Sauce)


Being on a strict diet for an IC bladder or a chronic UTI bladder can be really hard. I've talked to many patients who have been recovering, or fully recovered, or in remission, and many were healing through various diets such as: raw vegan, vegetarian, white meats & veggies, candida or GAPS. When I look at the Interstitial Cystitis diet online, I find that it is more geared towards Western food and Western type of diets. I looked all over online to search for Interstitial Cystitis friendly Asian foods but couldn't find anything written by Asians. You see, I'm Chinese, and 90% of my foods were Chinese and Japanese dishes before I got this long-term UTI problem.


[ Coconut Aminos sauce photo from JessicaGavin.com ]

I cooked Chinese, Korean, and Japanese foods, and ate mostly out to Asian restaurants (Thai, Vietnamese, Shanghainese, Schezuan etc) before my bladder problems. It can be very very acidic, thus, I cannot eat a majority of these on my current bladder. I ate mostly Asian foods because I can't digest a lot of Western foods due to my Asian genetics (I'm semi-lactose intolerant), and my gut cannot handle many of the rich sauces or types of foods that Westerners can eat. In the Chinese culture, we do not eat raw vegan or do much raw fruits, so I had so much digestion problems when I switched to raw vegan for my bladder. It helped my bladder, but it gave my stomach lots of cramping and tummy aches. I couldn't find any info on "safe foods" for an IC or UTI bladder for Asians, so I'm guessing it's probably written in the Asian language, which I sadly cannot read very well anymore. Having been born in Canada and not very many Asian friends here, I forgot my Chinese reading and writing and now. I also knew a bit of Japanese too back then! I regret not remembering my Chinese and Japanese, because I want to grab info from Chinese and Japanese interstitial cystitis and urinary tract infection blogs!

Soy sauce and soy products are very prevalent in the Asian diet. However, soy irritates IC and UTI bladders, and it definitely irritated mine. I find that I would flare badly if I had soy sauce, edamame beans, tofu, and soy products, which make up a huge component of my Asian dishes and snacks. I had to eliminate soy completely.

As my bladder is healing now and I can tolerate a lot more foods, I still cannot handle soy. But I miss cooking with soy in my vegetables and meats in my steamed and boiled Chinese and Japanese dishes such as bok choy, gai lan, home-made vegetarian sushi (no vinegar and no raw fish), rice, organic poultry and fishes. But then I discovered Coconut Aminos at Whole Foods! If you search for the right Coconut Aminos (look for one with the cleanest ingredients) Coconut Aminos is certified 100% organic, gluten free, dairy free, soy free, wheat free, no MSG, non-GMO, contains 17 natural amino acids, and is vegan. It resembles soy sauce and is dark, rich, and salty. So, whenever you see soy sauce in a recipe or you miss having soy sauce in your food, Coconut Aminos is a great substitute that is IC friendly. If you are a bit hesitant on it at first, try it in small amounts with 1/2 tablet or 1 tablet of Prelief, and then slowly try it with less or no Prelief. I find that I can handle Coconut Aminos in small amounts in my organic white rice (steamed with FIJI spring water) and steamed wild fresh Rock Cods, Ling Cods, and Tilapia fishes.

Coconut Aminos recipes & information:
Jessica Gavin, Culinary Scientist: The Facts About Coconut Aminos
Eat Drink Paleo: What is Coconut Aminos?
IC Friendly Recipes: Soy Sauce Substitute - Coconut Aminos

[ Coconut Aminos chicken salad photo from EatDrinkPaleo.au ]

*** Note: Some IC patients said that coconut aminos flared their bladders. This could be the fermentation, or they have a food intolerance to coconut, etc. So start it in very small amounts (I always start new foods in miniscule amounts like a teaspoon to a tablespoon and then slowly work my way up with it). 
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