Trigger Foods and Food as Medicine

I have foods that I'm moderately allergic to, and foods that cause me problems with UTIs. Here are the three kinds of foods I've been avoiding for fear of UTIs: • Spicy Food • Alcohol • Caffeine My strongest allergy (a medium reaction) is to Sesame seeds, and most of my reactions are mild. They are late onset allergies since menopause, and they may also be related to my weight gain or the recent pandemic. The other allergies are most nuts (peanuts, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts), egg whites, shrimp, soy, wheat, and cow's milk. I'm probably the most reluctant to give up cow's milk of all these allergies, but since they are all mild allergies, I tend to cheat on these allergies regularly in spite of the amount of pain I've been having lately. Come to think of it, I should really stop doing that for a month and see if it helps make the pain go away. It is difficult but alleviating pain is worth trying anything. I'm one of those people who grabs a mug of tea with a slice of licorice root in it to ward off cold sores. I also have eaten bananas, black pepper, and fresh basil or drank a steaming cup of hot tea when I've been out of my inhaler for asthma. I'm someone who loves the act of peeling fruit, including jackfruit, pomegranate, and pomelo which are some of my favorite pulpy fruits. I think of the act of preparing difficult to gather and prepare fruits like that as a calming and meditative activity that help me become more centered and mindful. I also like the challenge of eating unusual parts of foods like the skins off of kiwis, and the seeds insides of pomegranates, which may be more healthful and may be more of a GI tract gut challenge as well. I'm also interested in trying recipes that help the environment, like the ones that use watermelon rinds as cucumbers or pickles. It's fun to see each and every part of our plants and cultures as meaningful. I have a book "csa cookbook" by Linda Ly with that recipe, although there are plenty more online. 

 

Update: July 2023-

Lately I've been having stress incontinence and my last urologist told me to avoid three kinds of foods and keep a voiding journal.  The foods were caffeine, spicy foods, and alcohol.  Well, to be honest, I've been veering towards butterbeer and cough syrups lately so, alcohol is not a food I've been avoiding lately, probably a culprit in my latest issues.  My greenish tinge of mucus has been receding, and my mucus levels have been declining since last week, and my coughs have been been lessening, but I'm still very tired.  I'm  still also losing some pee here and there. And I've been very itchy and my right side has still been hurting due to my lower back issues.  I'm waiting for another referral to another urologist. I'm wondering if it will be the same guy as last time or a new one.