Tips, Tricks, and Cheats to the IC Diet: Coconut Aminos

When it comes to the Interstial Cystitis diet, nothing is ever easy as it is very individualized.  What sets off a flare in one person doesn't necessarily effect another.  Being a vegetarian, I often feel as if I am at a further disadvantage; the diet is restricting enough and avoiding meat just makes it that much harder.  That is why I grab onto IC-friendly substitutes whenever I can.  If I can easily use something in place of a known bladder iritant then it's one less ingredient I have to worry about when building a recipe.  That is why I love Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos Seasoning Sauce, which can be used as a substitute for soy sauce.

Soy sauce, the most well known and widely used soyfood in the western world [1], is made by fermenting a paste of boiled soybeans, grains (typically wheat), salt, and one of two molds in the Aspergillus family.  [2] Of course, since the soybean is a known bladder irritant, many IC patients are also sensitive to soy sauce.  For me, soy sauce seems to irritate my bladder much more then other soy foods (like meat replacement products).  I wonder sometimes if this is because of the fermentation process, or even the added mold.  Anyway, since it is used in a large amount in the western world, that leaves a lot of Asian cuisine off the table.

Coconut Aminos is, as is probably obvious, made from the coconut tree.  Unlike tapping maple trees, where the tree is tapped through the bark and the sap only flows for part of the year, the coconut tree is tapped, usually with bamboo tubes, through blossoms that have not yet matured into fruit and can produce sap for years.

"Coconut palms are one of the oldest flowering trees in the world.  For centuries throughout the tropics, the traditional practice of "tapping" coconut trees for their prized "sap" is a time-honored art form.  The nutrient-rich sap that exudes from the blossoms before they mature into coconuts, is used to make many unique and nutritious food products." [3]

Astonishingly, once  a coconut tree is tapped, it will continue to produce its nectar for up to 20 years. This makes it more sustainable then anything made from mature coconuts, like coconut oil.  In fact, tapping the coconut tree is 5-7 times more productive then allowing the coconut to mature for its fruit. [3]

To make Coconut Secrets Coconut Aminos, the freshly collected coconut sap is mixed with only sun-dried, mineral-rich sea salt and then naturally aged in small batches.  No other ingredients, including preservatives, are needed.   Wit coconut aminos, there is no risk of GMO ingredients like there is in traditional soy sauce and it contains 73% less sodium [4].  The taste is similar to soy sauce, but it it very much sweeter; I actually prefer the taste for most recipes.  

If you are like me and wish to find shortcuts to the IC diet, you owe it to yourself to try it.  I can usually find an 8oz bottle of Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos in health food stores, The Vitamin Shoppe, or online for about $5.  This means that it is slightly more expensive then soy sauce, but it is well worth it!  If you have already tried Coconut Aminos, please comment and share your experience!

References: 

1:  William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi.  (2004)  History of Soy Sauce, Shoyu, and Tamari.    Retrieved from: http://www.soyinfocenter.com/HSS/soy_sauce1.php 

2:  Wikipedia.  Soy Sauce.  Retrieved from: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_sauce

3:  Leslie.  (2009)  Coconut "Sap"~Who Knew???  Retreived from: https://www.coconutsecret.com/Tappingthesap2.html

4: Unknown Author at Coconut Secrets.  (2009). Coconut Secrets Coconut Aminos.  Retrieved from:  https://www.coconutsecret.com/aminos2.html