Foods and Rejuvenative Therapy
One of the more profound aspects of the energy science of Ayurveda is the rehabilitation of tissues once debilitated or keeping the tissues strong and preventing disease from entering tissue spaces This is called rejuvenation or rasayana treatment
These rejuvenative therapies are more of a process than getting the fountain of youth but play an important role after detoxification procedures as well as recovery from illnesses, trauma, or treatments such as chemotherapy In health rasayan therapy maintains health of the tissues and balance of the mindbody
Nuturing Rejuvenative Therapies
Simply feeling contented about life is a rasayana in and of itself The space implies that whatever is happening is OK, without judgement, anxiety, or passivity
Food as I have written about in the past can be rasayan therapy and as below are merely extension of herbs which is another form of therapy According to the VPK paradigm there are foods that support Vata such as soaked and peeled almonds for Vata, rose petal jam for Pitta, and plums, peaches, and dark grapes for Kapha Milk and ghee can be supportive to tissues such as the nervous system, bone, and reproductive tissue
Lifestyle Behaviors as Rasayana
Appropriate lifestyle behaviors such as oil massage for Vata, staying out of the sun for Pitta, and deep massage or vigorous yoga asana practice(hot yoga) for Kapha can be rejuvenating choices to help bring about balance
Speaking to others in a nurturing and positive manner reflects the internal peace that one carries and this kind of behavior in your relationships, to the environment without expectations becomes another way of practicing rejuvenation in one's life
Herbal Rasayana
Since we live in a society where we obtain health in pill form the above rejuvenative therapies are overlooked but nonetheless important However there are many directed rasayana herbs that can be used to help support the tissues and their strength
The most commonly mentioned herbal compound is triphala which is used in almost every management situation because it does so much for the physiology Other rasayanas are used to promote health of damaged tissues, prevent further damage, or perhaps the most valuable but underutilized is to close off potential areas that are genetically prone to disease
For example the rasayana arjuna is a herb for the heart and if you have a history of heart disease in the family using such a herb would be beneficial Or is osteoporosis is a family issue then using guggulu or prawel panchamrit would be good to support healthy bone tissue before your bones become weak
Summary
There are many ways the energy science of Ayurveda provides help for us with respect to rebuilding our health or protecting it Rasayana therapy is a unique and fundamental to helping live a long life of courage and stamina
Until next time To Health as a Skill Love DrBill
Read More
Kidney Stone Disease: A Nutritional and Herbal Solution
The body is simultaneously an energy and matter field based on your perspective
Inflammation can be viewed as either a molecular problem(matter science) or an imbalance in energy patterns in the urinary tract The predominant theory of the matter or molecular science is that the glycosoaminoglycan(GAG) layer becomes disrupted for unknown reasons and caused by a process of chronic inflammation in the urinary tract seen to be the basis for bladder cancer formation, interstitial cystitis, and now stone disease
The energy science of Ayurveda completely concurs that there is disruption due to acidic loading but notes it as an imbalance of too much of the hot quality(inflammation or high Pitta) rather than naming a molecule at fault The urinary frequency, urgency with or without incontinece due to the mobile quality of high Vata may occur in the bladder Since the energy science is a qualitative one there is no evaluation of molecules as in the matter science discipline
The endoscopic photos above show variations of crystalline formations on the renal papillae as a prodrome of stone disease of any form or size So it is inflammation that is at the heart of stone formation form an energy science view And as in so many identified diseases inflammation seems to be the common final pathway
GAG Layer Disruption and Stone Disease
I have long contended in my urological practice that the vast majority of patients with stone disease don't have a molecular reason for their stone disease Rather there is a GAG layer disruption on the kidney papillae that predisposes them to stone disease
And I have suggested to patients that they use aloe vera(cold) gel and a Pitta pacifying nutritional format or one used at foodsheal.com after taking the questionnaire
In this month's International Urogynecology Journal a group from Taipei reported on a study of a population of patients of painful bladder syndrome(PBS) and controlling for other associated diseases such as IBS, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pelvic pain(CPPS). depression, and chronic pelvic pain found that those with prior stone disease were at higher risk for developing PBS or IC(interstitial cystitis)
There has been one other study suggesting an association but this is the first population based study to show the association between the chance of forming stones and suffering from IC or PBS
In PBS inflammation and resultant disruption of the GAG layer seems to be linked with the symptoms A GAG layer is secreted by all cellular tubes that communicate with the outside So the respiratory tree, the GI tract, and the urinary tract linings all produce GAG layers
So it would make complete sense that the deficient GAG layer in the urinary tract would not have to be necessarily located just singularly involving the bladder but could involve the kidney GAG layer as well If this occurs the faulty papillary GAG layer in the kidney would not be slimy/smooth enough to prevent papillary crystals to form to serve as a nidus for continued stone growth
If the hot quality of Pitta can break down the GAG layer in the bladder it can certainly do the same thing in the kidney leading to stone formation
The Treatment of Stone Disease and IC Are the Same Because They Are Both Inflammatory Diseases
So it comes as no surprise that a nutritional format reducing the Pitta energy pattern foods used is a solution not only for PBS but also for stone disease as well This would reduce those foods that are inflammatory and bring the hot quality in those patients who are predisposed to either stone disease or PBS
The use of aloe(cold) would begin to help restructure the deficient GAG layer and making it whole again would be the solution to preventing stones in the future There are other herbs such as CCF tea, gokshura, and ushira that also can be used for stone recurrence
What you are witnessing here is the unique interplay between the energy science and matter science disciplines where both support each other in a holistic way
Of course it goes without saying that PBS and a person with stone disease should be treated in the same way as the problem is from an energy science view Pitta and Vata imbalances in the urinary tract
All the best To Health as a Skill Love DrBill
Read More
Star Trek: Science Fiction or Real?
Most of us are familiar with the concept that the body is an energy field. We can recall when Captain Kirk transformed his matter field into energy waves and beamed himself up to the starship Enterprise only to reappear again into his matter field body.
And when I talk to my patients about the energy field body, they intuitively understand that, yes, there is an energy body that is mine as well.
But what's the big deal? So I'm an energy body. Because if we accept this fact then the energy science medical sciences are valid ways of healing. There is sound foundation on the fact that there are disciplines that can heal us using different model.
The History of the Energy Sciences of Medicine
There are two scientific traditions of healing that treat the body as an energy field. Ayurveda, which is part of the Yoga tradition of India, and the Traditional Oriental Medicine discipline both built powerful healing systems around the concept of the body as an energy field. And with these traditions comes a vocabulary to help us discuss and understand the body in a different way than the way we currently see the body.
Currently in the matter field tradition, the evaluation and assessment of success in healing is done by measurment or quantitatively. If our blood count is low, we give iron and the blood count is measured as higher and we achieve success.
In the energy sciences of healing the evaluation and assessment of the energy field is done qualtitatively. And success in healing is determined by balance. The body is neither too hot or too cold, neither too heavy or too light, neither too dry or too oily.
In the accompanying table we can see how the two disciplines are different in how they do their scinece. It demonstrates through their differences how it becomes difficult to compare them using each other's science. That is, doing an matter science study evaluating an energy science question may be flawed. The scientific problings sometimes don't work very well. The key however is to understand and appreciate the inherent dissimilarities of the two sciences so that we can use them effectively when we need them.
Nutrition: A Platform To Understand Differences
Nutrition is one way we can quickly sample the value of the energy science tradition. Nutrition is one of the three traditional pillars of healing in the energy science of Ayurveda, and the focus of my work as a physician. I have personally seen transformations in healing with this simple approach to nutrition that have healed conditions that could not be solved by traditional or matter field approaches.
And nutrition is not only the way to treat disease but is the basis for prevention of disease and wellness. When we knowingly take in foods that resonate with our physiologies we automatically begin to experience balance and wellness. The value of the energy sciences to us is that the solutions to many health problems can occur by regaining balance. Stay tuned and I'll show you how in subsequent blog posts that are distilled from my book Foods Heal with the accompanying website.
Thanks for joining my emerging blog community. Drop me a comment and let me know what's on your mind. To Health as a Skill Love Dr Bill
Read More
The Cold Quality and Microbrews
I was in Portland having a microbrew with a friend and the conversation drifted to the taste of beer. Is it better at room temperature or icy cold? For me personally, I can't taste the hops flavor as well if the beer is cold and the nuances of the after tastes are lessened too.
Here's what's interesting, the energy healing disciplines would totally concur and make the statement that everything ingested should be at room temperature. That indeed ice is not nice. The cold quality actually affects our ability to experience taste well, but also to digest what we are consuming. To put that another way, temperature of food or drink affects our ability to digest not only the taste experience but the food itself.
That's right, energetically we initially digest taste not food. Taste is a collection of vibrational frequencies that we assimilate into our physiologies when we consume anything. Yes, from a matter field perspective we use enzymes to break down the food, but this is a transformation of the food from one state to another. Eventually it becomes a matter field state that we assimilate into our bodies and make heart cells and brain cells from it.
But our microbrew experience led to a conversation about how taste improves digestion from an energy perspective. If I can taste the beer better then my awareness of the liquid and its vibrational frequencies that I am consuming is better. So the nature of the cold quality clouds my ability to sense the beer and its complex vibrational frequencies. If I eat something cold, it's never as good as if it has been heated on the stove. Or if I cook raw food, the taste of the cauliflower becomes much fuller than when it was not predigested by cooking. The tastes of the foods come alive when food is warm.
When the temperature of what I am ingesting is less than body temperature, my taste buds on the tongue don't sense the vibrational frequencies as well. My awareness is not as keen as to what I am eating. My required strength to digest has to be greater and it requires more energy for me to digest the experience. I have to expend more energy to heat the food with my own heat in order to get the full energy experience.
In short, I'm taxing my body over and over again requiring it to heat up my food which expends energy unnecessarily. Now that you know this, go ahead and do your own experimetation. Take a long sip of your favorite microbrew or sparkling water. Then ask yourself: Should it be warm or cold?
Leave a comment and let me know what you think. We'll pick up this topic again in future posts.
'Til next time To Health as a Skill Love Dr B
Read More
