5 Ways to Assess Bowel Health
If you have good bowel health you won't need any medication but if you have poor bowel health all the herbs in
the world won't help you
The above aphorism says much about the importance of bowel health Unfortunately little is said about bowel health in the current matter science practice for many different reasons but one of the most salient is that the matter science medical model does not place much emphasis on the topic This may be changing as studies on bacterial systems and their importance evolve but for now, bowel health is really up to you
The energy science medical model of Ayurveda says that the origin of all disease is from the GI tract This is in great contrast to how we view the bowel Currently the bowel is a mechanical tube that takes what we give it, wholesome or not
A video I did some months ago on the GI tract discusses a healthy GI tract in reference to some well known chronic diseases such as IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia
Click on the link above to watch the video
5 Ways to Assess Bowel Health
1 Evaluation of the tongue This check in the morning after scraping your tongue is valuable in telling whether there is stagnant energy in the body by whether there is a coating or not
2 Strength of agni The digestive fire that I talk about in the video is the most important aspect to maintaining health We don't have this type of concept in the matter science medical discipline You can assess this by asking "How's my appetite?" If it's balanced and there is no challenge for overeating or snacking this is a good sign The second and more important question is "How do I feel after eating?" If you aren't satisfied or you have bloating or other complaints then you have problems with agni
3 Bowel elimination or regularity You should have a bowel movement each morning on awakening and usually within 2 hours after each meal Otherwise you are constipated or having too loose movements with diarrhea
4 Clarity or confusion This is sometimes a difficult symptom to assess since we all feel we have clarity But at times we become aware of the fact that we are having trouble figuring things out This is a directly related to poor bowel health
5 Frequency of nail trimming This may seem way out there but mineral absorption from the GI tract is related to good bowel health and if you're regularly trimming your nails then you're absorbing properly and bowel health is good
All the best To Health as a Skill Love DB
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5 Energy Science Ways to Deal With The Common Cold
When the qualities of Kapha(heavy, slow/dull, cool, slimy/smooth, oily, liquid, dense, static, gross, and sticky/cloudy) pile up during the winter months the mindbody naturally wants to shed these in the springtime to restore balance(eg too much heavy, liquid, dense, slimy smooth, sticky/cloudy qualites) If excessive these qualities are released in the form of mucous from the nose and airways(trachea, bronchi) It is the cool quality of Kapha that gives the name to this condition as the common "cold"
Qualities accumulate due to foods consumed with inadequate digestive fire, foods inappropriate for your body's energy makeup, and incompatible food combinations, with less accumulation due to wintertime's environmental factors, At other times there can be releases(cold, cough, and congestion) from past years if the individual is moving to higher states of health
Green Is Mean
The color of Pitta the energy of transformation is yellow to green The excess accumulated Pitta energy pattern is always present with inflammation so when these colors show up in the mucous you can be certain infection is present On the other hand the color of Kapha mucous is clear or white If just Kapha release is happening then no antibiotic is necessary
At the first sign of green or yellow mucous you should begin using antibiotics This is particularly the case when there have been previous bouts of bronchitis or not feeling strong during the wintertime season Green to yellow mucous implies that the body's immune status working to clear an infection And it doesn't make any difference if the green appears late or early For example if the green shows up in the first one or two days of mucous discharge antibiotics would still be the first choice in management Probiotics should be considered if you begin antibiotics to maintain a healthy gut bowel flora
Reducing Metabolic Load
You've heard of the common adage starve a cold, feed a fever Or is it the opposite feed a cold starve a fever? The energy science of Ayurveda can help us here Since Kapha is a hypometabolic state to begin with, it doesn't make sense to feed it more The digestive power is compromised
Therefore it makes sense to starve a cold and feed a fever Obvously I'm not talking about complete water fasting but doing juices is best eg apple and pomegranite or foods that are Kapha pacifying So chicken soup with rough(counters the slimy smooth quality) soda crackers becomes an excellent choice for the diet when going through Kapha release but not milky creamy soups
Remember Incompatible Food Combinations
If you are going to use foods be sure that the foods are compatible with one another Poor food combining can result in congestion and interfere with the Kapha release It makes complete sense that if you have excess heavy, slimy/smooth, cloudy/sticky being released you would not want to add more of these qualities in your nutritional format Examples include all dairy(cheees, yogurt, milk) almond milk is OK, nuts(heavy and oily), oils unless light, uncooked foods, heavy grains(oatmeal,wheat, yeasted breads) and of course no sugar Best to emphasize the tastes of pungent, bitter, and astringent
Buck Up Your Digestive Fire
Because Kapha is heavy, it takes a lot of energy to burn up Kapha molecules so the stronger your digestion through this process of Kapha release the better Of course the first rule of thumb is don't add any more Kapha molecules to the system in terms of food but at the same time by stoking your central digestive fire you strengthen all the digestive fires in the body including those that are trying to release these heavy qualities So for example the sweet taste is Kapha provoking so using sugary cough drops makes no sense
I mentioned probiotics above as intestinal bacteria are integral part of the concept of digestive fire I have covered other nutritional techniques in another post including ginger pickle which is a great way to enhance digestive fire
Herbal Remedies
The best remedy for colds is ginger and using it in combination with cinnamon, cardamom to make teas for a straightforward cold For colds with a productive cough making teas with dry powdered cloves, cinnamon, dry ginger is useful These heating spices(herbs) help with warming the cool quality of Kapha
Simple black pepper from the table is good to use since it burns off the Kapha qualities Pippali is a great herb to use for the lungs and should be considered when there are repeated bronchitis attacks in an individual's history Honey is heating and using this with or without ghee(in equal volumes) is useful as tissue buildup(improves immunity) but also aids in the clearance of Kapha qualities
Just remember you can take all the herbs in the world but if you haven't done anything about your nutritional choices you're wasting your time
Until next time To Health as a Skill Love DrBill
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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
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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
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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
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