Customer Reviews

A Taste of the Good Life: A Cookbook for an Interstitial Cystitis Diet

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Bev Laumann's cookbook is far more than that: it is a carefully researched, thorough, easily comprehended guide for the IC patient. The level of detail is amazing, and is presented so that you can delve deeper if you are inclined, or skip ahead to the many summaries, useful lists and recipes. She is quick to differentiate between what has been demonstrated by scientific methods, what is common people with IC, and what is more anecdotal. The needs of people with related conditions are addressed, especially concerns about balancing low-oxalate and IC diets. Throughout, her tone is positive and encouraging without ever sounding condescending. The book much more than I had hoped for - I can't praise it enough. If you are dealing with IC and frustrated or confused about how to manage food, nutrients, supplements, or cooking, this book should be a terrific help.

As an IC patient and as an IC support group leader, I believe that this is easily the best patient written book on our disease. The author provides thoughtful, balanced and research supported information in an easy to read format. For patients who are thoroughly confused about diet and how it can impact IC, or those who are just beginning to figure out their IC triggers, there is no better resource than this book. I recommend it highly. Kudos to the author! When will your next book be out!

This book is great. In addition to great recipes with easy substitutions for other diseases, this book includes a special treasure of information on IC and its causes, relationship to diet, etc. It is highly educational. I don't cook much since the IC pretty much took away my appetite, but I'd buy this book for the IC information alone! It's hard to find a more complete and useful collection of info about IC and the various diseases that too frequently accompany it.

This book disappointed me after all the good reviews. I have IC, but I am also lactose intolerant so I can't eat milk or cheese. Milk and Cheese are apparently staples in the IC diet, because the majority of recipes have some sort of milk product (without possible substitutions). The author also uses a lot of oil, which is inconvenient for someone trying to watch their weight. There are some good, tasty recipes like stews that are no brainers-they are IC friendly without milk that you can find in the "joy of cooking". There is however a lot of good information in addition to the recipes. There is an appendix that goes into details about IC safe brands of "staples" and which IC safe foods you can get your vitamins and nutrients from.

I love this book. Not only is it an excellent source of information about interstitial cystitis (IC) and the complex limitations of following an IC diet, it is also a great cookbook. (The Italian Baked Chicken is fabulous.) Recipes are straightforward and interesting. I refer to it again and again. The tone is sympathetic but hopeful, a great combination when dealing with this challenging condition. I applaud the writer for offering such a needed book.

I was disappointed with this book. Much of the information is outdated, and the recipes just weren't that good. Way too many pre-packaged, store bought stuff which is difficult for IC patients to use. She also uses too many items that most IC patients can't eat. I was really looking for a cookbook with from scratch recipes using only ingredients that are generally considered IC-safe. But this isn't it--since you have to go through each recipe and modify it to take out ingredients, whats the point? I do that with my regular cookbooks anyway, and they have better recipes.
so, I'm still looking for a solid, safe, from scratch IC cookbook.

Excellent reference for anyone dealing with the limitations of an IC diet. Well worth the money.

This book was such a trememdous help to me. There's no other like it that I know of. It answered many of my dietary questions and honestly made me feel that we with IC really do have food options!!! I'd highly recommend this book to anyone with IC.

I was diagnosed with IC 3 years ago. I joined the IC Association and buy books they suggest and other items. I could not put this book down. It answered alot of my questions. It is not just a cookbook. She has IC and has friends with IC. They experiment with products they hear could help with symptoms of IC and she puts the results in her book. The recipes are great and she discusses each food in detail why IC sufferers may have flare ups from them. She gives alot of websites for information about IC and other illnesses related to IC sufferers. There is alot of reading and if you skip over you may miss something you could use. For example, this is the first I have heard of this but she tells of using alittle baking soda in a glass of water for burning pain. The other night I had a flare up and felt like I was on fire. The burning was so bad. I remembered that she said baking soda worked for her. Even though it tastes yuk, when you are in so much pain you don't care. I used it and within a few minutes the burning was gone. I used it three times so far and had the same great results. She also has in the back an index for vegetarian recipes, and Low Oxalate recipes. Would recommend to all IC patience. She describes how to test food also to find out what flares IC symptoms. Thanks to the author. Lora

This cookbook is great. Even though it's been hard adjusting to not being able to eat my favorite foods- it really helps to have a cookbook of everything I CAN eat versus being told everything I CAN'T eat. It's also great because it goes into further detail what IC is and other ailments that could be a result of IC.