Yeast and Dis-ease
While naturally occurring yeast in our nutrition is healthy, in the West we have become excessive users of yeasted products primarily in the form of bread products and pastry This adversely affects the bowel flora or the microbiome of the gut because yeast overgrowth is a definite complication This is why yeasted bread products are listed in the No column in the energy science nutritional formats
Energetically the sweet taste soothes the nervous system Even though we grow up with the sweet smell of oven baked bread and yearn for the sweet taste in its many different forms unfortunately the yeast in bread products can do a number on our gut flora This is why if we look at the planetary nutritional habits we'll see that 80% of the population uses flatbreads as a way of taking their grains which have naturally occurring yeast, not yeast that has been artificially added to produce the puffiness of the dough
Dis-ease and Yeast
What does yeast have to do with dis-ease in the energy physiology?
Think about what yeast does to dough as it rises The excess yeast in the dough produces the hot quality during the rising process We can feel that hot quality on the sides of the bowl as the process is occurring This hot quality is delivered to the GIT and produces an additive effect to the already present hot quality in the gut As you may remember it's the hot quality that produces many of the symptoms of dis-eases such as gastroesophageal reflux(heartburn), diarrhea, inflammatory bowel dis-ease, and inflammatory joint dis-ease
But what else are we observing? The dough begins to "rise" This rising is an result of the CO2 gas being produced by the yeasties as a byproduct of their metabolizing of sugars in the flour The result energetically is the qualities of cold, light, mobile, dry, rough, subtle, and clear are being added to the GIT when we consume yeasted products These qualities of gas lead to a build up of the Vata energy pattern in the GIT
Vata is a primary player in all dis-ease processes in the mindbody and in particular 80% of dis-eases that are seen So you can see how very important it is to limit the influence of Vata in the body
What To Do About Dietary Yeast?
So there are a number of different lifestyle behaviors that you can take on that will make your gut a happier place
Use flatbreads such as sprouted wheat tortillas, pancakes, or corn tortillas(corn should not be used for PV energy makeup)
Consume naturally occurring yeast found in all grain flours We don't have to go looking for this because it's naturally there for us
Avoid the bakery section in grocery stores As Vata pacifying as it may be this section of the store should be off limits
Scones which are a great bakery good without the yeast
Don't supplement with yeast This seems obvious but in many matter science health communities we find recommendations for yeast supplementation While this may be a good idea from a molecular point of view it makes little sense from an energy science perspective
Toast the bread if you have to have it so that the residual yeast and the Vata qualities are not consumed
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Yeasted Foods
Did you know that yeast is a common inhabitant of the normal gastrointestinal(GI) tract?
But as consumers using yeasted products(primarily puffy breads pastry), we can get too much with resultant yeast overgrowth in our diet and food. When you think about it, the majority of people on the planet eat grains by the use of flatbreads.
From an energy science nutritional view excess yeast causes:
too much gas(rising dough is from gas produced by the yeaties) aggravating Vata
too much of the hot quality(warmth of the rising bread dough bowl) aggravating Pitta
too much mass(yeastie cells grow and like the warm environment of the GI tract).
So the energy nutritional science puts puffy bread on the No list.
What to do? Here are some guidelines around lifestyle behaviors and yeast:
Flatbreads from flour tortilla(PittaVata should not use corn tortilla)
Scones which are a great bakery good without the yeast
Essene bread is nonyeasted sprouted wheat bread
Toast yeasted breads bought at the store to kill off residual yeast
Sprouted wheat grain breads still yeasted so toast them
With some slight variations your GI tract will thank you
"Til tomorrow To health as a skill Love DrBill
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Nutritional Likes and Dislikes
We all have likes and dislikes in our nutritional diet, don't we? In the energy science we call them cravings that are physiologic and nonphysiologic The former should be satisfied like being thirsty after sweating a lot But the latter are problematic for us and often stem from our past history, friends, teachers, but some are darn right desires that try as we might we can't explain why we avoid or are attracted to them.
So we like things such as coffee, tomatoes, carbonated drinks, hot spices everyday, animal foods such as beef, duck, lamb, pork. We all have that salivation list.
If we look at these through the lens of an energy science nutritional approach we find them as yea and nay, that is yes for you but not for another; and vice versa no for you and yes for the other.
But there are foods and drinks that are universally Nay for everyone and Yea for everyone. Take a look.
Nays Raw tomatoes, bread with yeast(not toasted), miso, store bought yogurt, pork and lamb, chocolate, coffee, hard liquor, carbonated drinks, icy cold drinks, white sugar, and poor food combinations.
Yeas Sweet apples, applesauce, sweet berries and cherries, cooked beets, cooked carrots, green beans, cooked leeks, okra, cooked peas, sweet potatoes, summer squash, seitan, sprouted wheat bread(nonyeasted), split mung dal, goat's milk cottage cheese, egg whites, freshwater fish, ghee, aloe vera, sweet berry juice, tea, grain coffee, grape and mango juice, peach nectar, all the cooling spices, supplements such as calcium magnesium and zinc in moderate amounts, chlorella.
Three observations come to mind for me. There are more yeas than nays. YEA!
Secondly the nays have a lot of attractiveness to them for us in general. White sugar, chocolate are screamers but bread with yeast(if not toasted), and carbonated drinks are also engaging as well.
And lastly, the message is that no matter what energy pattern combination you are as revealed at foodsheal.com there is plenty to eat without risking nutritional imbalance. What a deal, huh?
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Incompatible Food Combinations
Those of us know that acidity has something to do with disease or symptoms of not feeling well either intuitively or reading what others have to say about disease
This leads to a large number of dietary recommendations to eliminate the acidity from the diet and to reduce symptoms
You can go a long way toward resolution of any symptoms if you do fundamental changes in your nutritional format just by eliminating known foods that are physiologically imbalacing from your food choices But as I have written before what foods to avoid often comes down to "who's doing the eating?" because from an energy science viewpoint the nutritional format can be meaningful
Food Incompatibility
At times we don't know that what we are eating is making us sick Did you know that pain from IC can also be related to the acidic loading that occurs from poor food combining?
Some foods don't belong with one another For example, fruit with any other food is commonly practiced yet it can lead to poor digestion and symptoms of bloating and abdominal pain if done frequent enough In the energy science of Ayurveda every food has qualities and when foods are combined which are antagonistic to one another they may be toxic to the mindbody
Here's a list for you to consider
Beans WITH Fruit, cheese, eggs, fish, milk, meat, yogurt
Eggs WITH Fruit (especially melons), beans, cheese, fish, kichari, MILK, meat, yogurt
Fruit As a rule, with any other food. *There are exceptions, such as certain cooked combinations, as well as dates and milk which have the same rasa, virya, and vipaka.
Grains WITH Fruit, tapioca
Honey ** With equal GHEE by weight (e.g. 1 tsp honey with 3 tsp ghee); AVOID boiled or cooked honey
Hot Drinks WITH Mangos, cheese, fish, meat, starch, yogurt
Lemon WITH Cucumbers, milk, tomatoes, yogurt
Melons EVERYTHING — especially dairy, eggs, fried food, grains, starches. Melons more than most fruit should be eaten alone or left alone.
Milk WITH BANANAS, cherries, melons, sour fruits, bread containing yeast, fish kitchari
Nightshades, e.g., potato, tomato WITH Melon, cucumber, dairy products
Radishes Bananas, raisins, milk
Tapioca WITH Fruit, especially banana, mango, beans, raisins, jaggary
Yogurt WITH Fruit, cheese, eggs, fish, hot drinks, meat, MILK, nightshades
A strong digestion which I'll cover in the future is the most important physiologic tool to deal with poor food combining aside from not combining in the first place
An Energy Science Nutritional Approach
From an energy science approach nutrition is more than diet The study of diet concerns itself wit h molecules of the food ingested But nutrition takes into account not only the qualities of the foods taken in and how these qualities interact but also the impact of the digestion of foods on the mindbody physiology This is a very significant difference between matter science and energy science nutrition
So here are 3 things that you can do right now to stop or reduce the flares of IC
1 Check out who you are energetically
2 Choose a nutritional format appropriate for your mindbody energy makeup
3 Go to the orange box and sign up to become a member our growing IC Ayurvedic energy science community
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The Innumerable Values of Yogurt
One particular thread that I have seen come up is the question about IC and yogurt How should it be used and whether it is safe in IC, that is, whether it is Vata and Pitta provoking, causing bladder pain
Yogurt is an amazing food and many ethinic cultures on the planet use fresh yogurt and kefir as health promoting foods in their nutrition And there are very good reasons for doing so but due to the Pitta aggravating nature of yogurt, freshly made is the only way to go in moderation
Helping Restore Imbalanced Agni
The value of yogurt is that it serves when freshly made a rich source of probiotic which is a population of "good bacteria" that reside in the bowel "Bad" bacteria at times overgrow the gut flora leading to poor digestion, absorption, and assimilation so it's important that the good flora flourishes and the bad are kept in check As I've alluded to in the past, bacterial growth is a major part of our digestive strength that needs to be nourished
This is particularly important if you have GERD, IBS, and fibromyalgia associated with IC since the digestive fire is significantly compromised in these dual conditions
Regular use of freshly made yogurt insures that the "good" bacteria are consistently replenished Agni is always compromised in these conditions and since the bacterial flora is part of agni it's important to supplement with probiotic foods such as yogurt SIBO(small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) is commonly thought of as the root cause of many bowel diseases but from an energy science perspective it's just saying that agni is disturbed
You may have heard of yeast overgrowth and this is yet another factor that can lead to poor digestive fire(eliminating yeast laden bread products is a good idea in that it gives us more than we need so flatbreads are best or at least toasting yeasted products) This candidal imbalance in bowel flora much like SIBO is a result of poor agni So building up agni is one of the central therapeutic themes in the management of the IC bladder pain syndrome
Bowel flora is important in the concept of digestive fire and aids in bowel digestive function as well as providing important nutrients for our nutrition
Pasteurized yogurts should be avoided as pasteurization kills off the beneficial probiotic component of yogurt
Making Digestion Easy By Predigestion-Optimizing Digestive Strength
The value of yogurt comes in the predigestion of lactose and casein which we talked about a couple of days ago Hence the bacteria during the incubation phase of creating yogurt use the sugar lactose and break down the protein casein The lactose then doesn't bother the lactose intolerant and the casomorphin derivative from casein digestion can be less, hence affecting us less
Why freshly made? From an energy science view the build up of acidity occurs with aging yogurt even if refrigerated becomes inflammatory and thus Pitta provoking You also get the maximal amount of probiotic in the yogurt(some bacteria die off after 4-5 days)
Even though fresh yogurt is not very acidic(sour taste) it still can be Pitta provoking if used daily Hence home made yogurt has its consumption limitations
So Some Guidelines
1 Based on the foodsheal.com food combining list, don't use fruit with yogurt
2 To really inhibit the negative sour effects of even freshly made yogurt, the use of Sucanat or Turbinado(crystallized cane sugars) can be important because the sweet taste helps balance the aggravating sour taste
3 Always use yogurt in moderation, that is, 2-3x per week
4 Store bought and therefore processed yogurt is too acidic and will provoke IC
5 Diluting the yogurt with water reduces its acidity
6 Keeping in the fridge after it comes from the incubation phase will help get the yogurt firmer
7 For best results use whole milk
How to get started
Buy a yogurt maker(Donvier is a French brand or other various manufacturers can be found on Amazon) Using fresh starter each time ensures that the bacterial count of the yogurt will be rich The small amount of starter is not enough to aggravate Pitta
And yes, it does take some time to make your own yogurt but after doing it, in a short time you can do a batch in about 15 minutes(total time; heating the milk and cooling it can be done while doing other things)
If the yogurt is curdly and clearly not smooth in texture it means that there's probably too much cooking going on and that the incubation times are too long So try 10 hours instead of 12 hours with the Donvier
YouTube has several videos on how to make your own yogurt
It's best not to use dry milk powder as the milk product as it is provoking to Vata Pitta
The greatest value is making your own yogurt is that you participate in your own health and this is a small but significant step in assuming responsibility for our health
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