7 Nutritional Guidelines to Actually Reduce Stress
Although there are internet discussions about stress and nutrition few take an approach of how nutrition can actually help us reduce stress And it may be very surprising to us what the energy science says about what we should do when under stress
The idea here is to use nutrition to calm the mindbody and more effectively deal with our stressor
A Nutritional Molecular View of Dealing With Stress
From a matter science view stress brings us anxiety which is a fear based response to change, whatever that may be Deadlines, moving, marital difficulties, loss of job All these are stressors that the mobilize hormones that help us cope
So it would be very reasonable that we take molecular supplements to fortify the body But this doesn't reduce the stress nutritionally It's adjunctive or supportive
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine(PCRM), a matter science medical organization whose purpose is to rethink our nutritional style of health has talked most specifically about what foods should be emphasized when we are under stress
What is being stated here is that when under stress we should be aware of the fact that certain "comfort foods" will be used in lieu of healthy foods
Energy Science Biological View of Stress
The Ayurvedic energy science biological paradigm of Vata(V) Pitta(P) Kapha(K) can help us understand how different people respond differently under stress PK for example can do somewhat well with stressful situations but if they are stressed they look for comfort foods Stress equals things going in the mouth
PV people are those that can be significantly and adversely effected by stressors due to the mobile quality that produces a disrupting influence on the mindbody And the more Vata aggravated they are the more help they need
Nutrition To Calm the Mindbody Physiology: 7 Suggestions
So the Vata aggravation needs to be dealt with in order to calm the mindbody physiology One of the first and most profound things to do is:
1 Don't eat if you're not hungry This will be easy for PV and not so easy for PK since as we said earlier these people will look for comfort foods that as the PCRM reports are not usually healthy choices Particularly don't eat if the tongue has a coating on it after scraping int the morning
2 If eating, don't overeat Again not such a problem for PV but one for PK
3 Follow energy science nutritional formats according to one's mindbody energy physiology
4 Consider nutritional monotony, that is, the same type of foods during the stressful times
5 Eat slowly and not on the run Practice nutritional awareness when eating If you can't do this then don't eat
6 Eat easily digestible foods such as kitchari since the digestive fire is also under stress and reduced
7 Consider the liberal use of spices to aid the digestive fire
Energy science nutrition is offers so much more to our lifestyle behavior patterns that occur with stress than the molecular approach Try a few of the suggestions the next time you're under stress or better yet practice these guidelines so that when the next big stressor occurs(and most assuredly it will be coming your way), you'll be prepared!!
Until next time Ciao To health as a Skill Love DrBill
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Health Isn’t In A Pill, It’s a Skill: 6 Ways to Get It
Health as the Absence of Disease?
The contemporary matter science medical(molecular) model that we use is crisis management In this way of thinking if we're not sick, then de facto we're healthy
Oh, oh I have some bad symptoms of dis-ease or my lab tests are out of whack Red alert Better do something And then we manage the disease with a pill or magic operation
Now it's not to say that this model of healing is not important It's extremely valuable when we are unfortunately really sick But let's be clear, it does not define health
But I don't think people consider health that way anymore even though that's the best the molecular model can give us And it can't give any better because the model isn't made for health, it's made for dealing with disease
The World Health Organization however has a different way of looking at disease To paraphrase, health is not the absence of disease
Energy Science Definition of Health
So the energy science of Ayurveda has a lot to say about the perfect state of health
Not only does it define health for us but it goes the important next step It gives us tools in order to develop that perfect state of health where disease is not possible
But it takes knowledge, awareness, and work to develop the skill of being healthy Would we not think it unusual to find that Tiger Woods doesn't practice golf That he just shows up for tournaments?!!
6 Ways to Develop the Skill of Being Healthy
Here's what we can do to practice health and become skillful at it
Eat according to your mindbody energy makeup
Exercise 4-6 times per week for 30 minutes
Use a churan to improve digestive fire
Early to bed and early to rise
Eat the biggest meal at noon
Practice Practice Practice
Like any skill we have to practice what it is that we want to achieve These steps will do it for you
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Do We Know How Sick We Really Are?
That's a matter science approach But it begs the question, did we know how sick we really were?
The Molecules Did It
From a matter science understanding disease occurs because of some molecular disruption, genetic or otherwise The molecule whether they be hormones, infectious agents, lack of proper immune defense molecules, low density lipoproteins, or others become the responsible agents And chances are the causes are it's not just one cause
But if we can't explain the disease molecularly, stay tuned for more information to be reported in the future, say our healers
In many areas what this approach creates is the victim state Darn it, if my molecules would only behave or if I hadn't got infected
Energy Science View of Disease
In contrast the energy science relates disease to imbalances of qualities in the physiology If I have too much hot quality then I may develop acid indigestion(heartburn)
But the energy science goes further and this is probably its greatest contribution It shows us that when a disease shows up in our matter field body that there have been 4 prior stages of disease(imbalance) that have been processed before it became apparent to us In other words how sick we get is an evolution in progress And that we don't even realize what's going on because our model tells us it's just "bad luck"
This is quite striking given our current understanding of disease It says that we missed 4 prior stages of imbalance on finally getting to the manifestation So for the person who develops a malignancy, it isn't like it suddenly appeared and it's a case of "bad luck" We've been working on it for some time
No Panacea
I make no claim that disease prevention is easy or totally preventable
But I do make the claim that no one is a victim
Having said that the energy science does bequeath to us a system of disease prevention But it requires substantial work to change the physiology and bring it into balance once it has lost it's state of balance that it had long ago Nutrition is a reasonable first step in starting to regain that balance
And balance is like walking on a balance beam It requires monitoring
So do we want to remain victims or do we desire an element of proactivity in our quest for better health We are all our own decision makers We get to make the choice
Until next time Ciao To health as a Skill Love DrBill
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Cranberry Juice and Urinary Tract Disease: An Energy Science View
Both the matter and energy science disciplines agree on the conclusions so this informational evidence has strong, sound grounding And I'm a urologist having studied nonbacterial inflammatory changes in the urinary tract and the use of an energy science approach in these conditions
Nutritional Myths
As we have discussed earlier myths die a slow death Myths are beliefs or sets of beliefs often unproven or false that accrue around a system. The reason that they captivate us is they potentially hold the secret of health. And we all want to be healthy.
This is no more true than for myths around nutrition It's all nutritional guess work from a matter science view that is attempting to make sense of nutrition and its relationship to disease The study of food molecules is not going to tell us how the food interacts with YOUR physiology All we know is a lot about the molecules of the food The nutritional answers lie at the biologic energy level
The same holds true for Grandma's time honored cure for urinary tract infections, cranberry juice(CJ)
Urinary Tract Infections
Many times observations by us can be true true unrelated That is, we make an observation, the CJ helped me and yes I got better but there may be no causal relationship In addition more than 50% of UTI's are nonbacterial, ie, not associated with bacteria Matter(molecular) science nutritional arguments abound but the bottom line is there is no good evidence that CJ helps(as above)
What gives then? From an energy science view the symptoms are related to a nonbacterial inflammatory change in the bladder(interstital cystitis), that is a Pitta aggravated condition CJ will aggravate an already inflammatory condition from an energy science nutritional view In general PV(Pitta Vata) should not use cranberry at all and PK(Pitta Kapha) 1-2x per week The latter observation is probably why some can get better
You see, again, it's who's taking the CJ!
Urinary Tract Stones
What about renal stone formation? This again is a Pitta aggravated condition and there have been two studies, the one cited above and a second which showed actually an increase in stone formation in those taking concentrated cranberry tablets
Of course again the consumers weigh in with their observations and myths start flying about how the stones were dissolved by CJ
And this makes total sense to those who are selling or manufacturing CJ so the more the merrier! Buyer beware!
There is not much good advice from the matter science physicians about prevention but the energy science has a lot to say about prevention advocating a nutritional format that is good for one's body makeup
No Scientific Support
So for those not yet mesmerized by the myth and personal experience of CJ the fruit has some redeeming qualities in the use of Kapha imbalance but in general both from a matter and energy science views it's not the panacea that it;s cracked up to be
But nutritional myths do die hard And we so much want to believe them
Until next time Ciao To health as a Skill Love DrBill
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The Breakie King: Understanding Kapha Energy Pattern
Because one of the most pleasurable events of a weekend for me was breakfast, it prompted my wife to crown me the "Breakie King" I enjoyed it all The before meal juice, oatmeal with raisins, flapjacks with syrup, eggs over easy with bacon or ham on the side Maybe some yogurt with fruit
As all patterns of behavior I think it's worthwhile to question them particularly in light of beneficial energy science guidance
The Energy Science Paradigm: Understanding Kapha
Between 6 and 10a is a Kapha period of time The body's metabolism is heavy, slow, cold, cloudy, and static Doesn't sound like a particularly favorable time of the day for a big meal, does it?
Add another layer of understanding If one's mindbody energy makeup is Kapha then there is a double whammy that comes into play Not only is the time of day not right for a large meal but if the one consuming that meal has the same qualities of heavy, slow, cold, cloudy, and static, the food will not be digested well
Add another layer Foods(dairy, eggs, syrup, pancakes, oatmeal) that are associated with breakfast often over time can aggravate the Kapha energy pattern due to the qualities of heavy, slow, cold, cloudy, and static
Childhood Obesity
Add another layer Childhood is a Kapha period of life Strongly predisposed children(those who will be Kapha as adults) are at risk for childhood obesity
And it starts early on setting up lifestyle behavior patterns that are not conducive to good health
Understandably for growing school age children food in the morning may help with attention span and improve school behavior patterns But as parents who are setting the stage for potential problems down the line, I think it's important to follow PK nutritional guidelines as outlined at foodsheal.com
But for adults the question is whether it is such an important meal
One Universal Recommendation Does NOT Fit All
Blanket health recommendations from the matter science nutritional view is very misleading for us, the public For example this directive from an authoritative organization can lead to confusion because as we started out the consumer "feels" intuitively that breakfast shouldn't be the main meal personally but then these kind of statements are made
According to the American Dietetic Association(ADA), the breakfast is the most essential meal of the day Many have already spoken about the importance of breakfast. It acts as a fuel to the body to carry out the various tasks of the day. It is said that a healthy breakfast should provide 1/3 of the day’s total calorie intake. Still, it is the most neglected part of the day. Most of the people skip breakfast as they are in a hurry, don’t feel like eating or want to lose weight
Yikes! With such misguided matter science nutritional advice no wonder we have a rampaging problem with obesity The ADA needs help!!
The Breakie King Rethinks the Universal Recommendation
It's funny what happens over the years Knowledge begets wisdom particularly armed with energy science nutritional guidance
If it's necessary to have have breakfast make it light particularly if PK and follow the nutritional guidelines
Watch out for poor food combining
Consider not eating at all or perhaps juice only Remember baby steps
If in a rush DON'T eat Better to not eat at all since rushing effects digestive fire
Have breakfast at noon when the digestive fire is richest making the biggest meal at noon!!
Until next time Ciao To health as a Skill Love DrBill
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