Interstitial Cystitis: A Guide for Nutrition Educators (A Confident Choices® Book)

Announcing Interstitial Cystitis: A Guide for Nutrition Educators (Confident Choices® Book). New research estimates three to eight million people may suffer from a painful bladder condition, interstitial cystitis—also called IC. The great news is that dietary modifications can help relieve the symptoms of IC which include urgent, frequent, and painful urination. The book Interstitial Cystitis: A Guide for Nutrition Educators is the first publication of its kind, written for registered dietitians and nurses who provide diet counseling to bladder disease patients.

Auburn Hills, MI – February 20, 2010 – The research is beginning to reflect what interstitial cystitis (IC) patients have known for decades: Dietary modification is one of the most effective treatments for those who suffer from this painful and often life altering bladder condition. In order to spread the word, Julie Beyer, MA, RD, a dietitian and IC patient, has written Interstitial Cystitis: A Guide for Nutrition Educators to help educate dietitians and nurses who provide diet counseling to bladder disease patients.

The main symptoms of IC are frequent urination, an unexpected urge to get to a bathroom immediately, and pelvic pain. The pain may or may not be perceived as coming from the bladder. For unknown reasons, there is painful inflammation and sometimes ulcers in the bladder lining. Patients feel like they have a bladder infection all the time, but the urine does not show bacteria if cultured.
Treatments vary; however, dietary changes can make a huge difference in symptoms. “Much of what we know about diet and IC is based on what IC patients have told us,” said Beyer who has authored two other books on IC and diet, “For years, IC patients were insistently and consistently reporting that caffeinated beverages, tomato products, spicy foods, and acidic fruits increased their painful symptoms. Now, thanks to the work of Robert Moldwin, MD, and Barbara Shorter, PhD, RD, we have research to support what the patients have told us all along.”

In 2009, Beyer worked extensively with other IC and diet experts to standardize what is now known as the “Interstitial Cystitis Food List.” “We have the basic diet identified,” said Beyer, “However, the rest is dependent on a patient determining their personal trigger foods which can vary greatly from patient to patient. That is where nutrition educators come in!”

To encourage more dietitians to learn about IC and to aid those clinicians who are already helping IC patients, Beyer has written Interstitial Cystitis: A Guide for Nutrition Educators. In addition to addressing the basics of an IC diet, the book summarizes the epidemiology of IC, describes what a typical IC patient may be experiencing, and outlines the modified elimination diet process that has helped so many IC patients gain control of their symptoms.

“Not only is there a great opportunity here for nutrition educators to expand their practices,” said Beyer who has helped thousands of IC patients over the past 12 years, “it is tremendously rewarding to help a patient reclaim a life they thought they had lost!”

Interstitial Cystitis: A Guide for Nutrition Educators (ISBN: 978-0-9767246-6-7) will be available March 15, 2010 on Amazon.com and on the IC Diet website (www.ic-diet.com).

Julie Beyer, MA, RD, a Michigan dietitian and IC patient herself, wrote Interstitial Cystitis: A Guide for Nutrition Educators (A Confident Choices® Book), Confident Choices: Customizing the Interstitial Cystitis Diet and Confident Choices: A Cookbook for Interstitial Cystitis and Overactive Bladder to help IC patients and clinicians understand how diet modification can change the lives of bladder disease patient like those with interstitial cystitis. Her website (www.ic-diet.com) provides information and resources for patients and medical educators. Beyer coaches IC patients on diet and lifestyle modification and is a popular speaker at IC Support Groups and conferences across the country.

Julie Beyer, MA, RD
Confident Choices
PO Box 210086
Auburn Hills, MI 48321
866-537-8766
julieabeyerrd@aol.com
http://www.ic-diet.com/
http://www.you-can-write-a-book.com/

This release was published on openPR.