Acid Indigestion: 3 Ways to Deal With It
The hot quality shows up in all kinds of different foods Some are obvious such as cayenne pepper, chili pepper, and horseradish But other foods such as tomatoes, salt, and grains like buckwheat and corn are below the radar screen There is a compounding effect in the energy science discipline of healing Over time these foods effects mount up and then produce symptoms So the lesson is to avoid these cumulative effects to begin with by watching what you take in the first place
But it's more important to understand that this type of problem is associated with other health challenges that can lead to inflammatory bowel disease(IBS and Crohn's disease), asthma. bronchitis, and skin diseases
Two Bowls of Ice Cream and Pharma
My father in law didn't have IC pain and lived a relatively comfortable life except for anxiety now and then He had an interesting habit that I think is germane to our discussion today
As a matter of evening routine he would sneak into the kitchen late at night to have his two bowls of Hagen Daz ice cream after which he would take his cholesterol lowering pills(maybe two for good measure!) Comfortable that he had done his ounce of prevention he would then trundle off to bed
I think most would feel that taking two Lipitor after eating ice cream is .... well not preventative But isn't that the same thing we are doing with antacids? Prelief is an antacid like many OTC antacids to help with the stomach symptoms of heartburn GERD Even Tagamet has been used off label for IC But isn't that the same thing?
Freedom: But At What Price?
We all want our freedom of choice and the energy science of Ayurveda does not say "Never" It says that we all have free choice but we don't have a choice about the consequences of our choices
Drugs and nutraceuticals are not meant to cover over poor food choices that cause the pain of IC which can be managed more successfully without the use of pharma
Of course there is the sentiment "My life is over All of my favs taken away from me!" These energy science nutritional formats are not an "all or none" proposition but the more closely you adhere to the format the better you will feel And after a while you'll get tired of taking in foods that make you feel sick
In the end the energy discipline can help us with a qualitative scientific assessment of what foods are best for our mindbody energy makeup
Three Ways to Manage Acid Indigestion
1 Go to foodsheal.com right now and take the quiz Then choose the appropriate nutritional format and print the pdf format off so you have it to follow
2 Read the incompatable food combination list and print off that file as well and post both on your refrigerator so you can reference them regularly
3 Use aloe vera gel(not the juice) on a regular basis (2T three times per day) Take it to work, travel with it, and make a ritual out of its use
To Health as a Skill Love DrBill
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Restoring Biological Innocence Through Nutrition
The energy body is composed of three types of energy using the energy science model of Ayurveda As I have talked about in the past how it is articulated in other models such as the Traditional Oriental Medicine discipline is different but in essence it's the same, the mindbody is being seen as an energy field, not a matter field
The three energy patterns in the Ayurvedic model are Vata(energy of movement), Pitta(energy of transformation or metabolism), and Kapha(energy of stability) You need all three to function but they are expressed in degrees in all of us Someone may be born Vata 3 Pitta 2 Kapha 1 while her friend might be V1P2K3
Innocence and the Energy Science Model
The energy patterns described in the Ayurvedic energy model simply are They are mental constructs created by healers 1000's of years ago in order to make sense of what they were observing in themselves They had no microscopes, MRI's, or Xray machines They only had their powers of observation They saw that there was movement around them and they saw movement in the healthy body and so they called this Vata and we now term it a biological energy Similarly observations in Nature showed the transformation and stability was seen and those were also observed in the human body and these energy patterns were called Pitta and Kapha But Nature Herself is innocent and so are the energy patterns that make Her up....she simply exists
These energy patterns are simply expressions of Nature herself So there are Pitta dogs, Kapha type cats, Vata like birds And our mindbodies are expressions of Nature as well This is the basis of understanding the energy model as it applies to us as biological energy patterns
Disease: The Loss of Innocence
Disease in the energy body occurs because we make unconscious choices that cause these energy patterns to become more active than they should be If we run, run, run....eventually we run out of energy.....we deplete the body because by all that running the energy of movement gets so active in the body that it causes depletion
So disease is typically a depletion of the energy body due to poor unconscious choices that we make The energy patterns are innocent They're just being part of Nature...it's our mind and its choices that go against Nature that produces disease
Working the night shift might seem like a way to make a living but it goes against Nature's intelligence which sleeps at night....She's not working
So when we make choices that restores these energy patterns back to balance, back to the times when they were not provoked(when we were children) then healing occurs This is the healing is seen in the energy science at least
We restore this innocence by making choices that do not aggravate the energy patterns in our bod
y For example by following the nutritional formats we avoid making food choices that lead to imbalances in the body that eventually lead to disease
So here's to restoring innocence Best DB
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Detoxification and its Benefits
In the last couple of months I have written intermittently to you about the energy science's understanding of toxic load(called ama) that occurs with all disease Since this kind of thinking is completely foreign to those of us following the matter science medical model, it represents a radical departure as to how we think about the origin and treatment of disease
As I have said from an energy science perspective ama or this toxic moribund substance is the byproduct of poorly functioning metabolism Again the energy science describes poor metabolism as a result of low agni(digestive strength, power, or fire) This agni is in part the digestive capability of the entire GIT that we are all familiar with The agni in this part of the body is comprised of all the enzyme systems from the mouth to the rectum including all the bacterial systems as well
But there are other agnis in the body that are involved with the metabolism of the tissues and excretory functions And most importantly agnis that help us digest thoughts, feelings, and emotions When you digest well psychologically the result is mental clarity
From an energy perspective the primary purpose of any detoxification protocol is to improve agni or the capability to digest(physical food, thoughts, feelings, emotions)
Physical Detoxification
If you're tired you rest IF you're listening to your body As you know there are many people who don't listen to their bodies and that's literally the first step to disease Eventually you have to listen because the body essentially gives out with resultant disease
If your agni is laboring, not up to par, and as a result your body is producing ama, then it makes sense that one of the first things to do is to give your agni a rest One of the simplest things to do is a monodiet
A monodiet is a certain type of food that is done over a period of time The type of food chosen for the diet is not as important as the consistency to do the monodiet for the period of time Some would call this a "fast" and it is in the loosest sense of the term but it's essentially giving your digestive system rest Why? Because you're using only one group of enzyme systems to digest the same thing over and over again The monodiet could be fruit, could be rice and yogurt, could be fruit juice The point is that it doesn't matter what the monodiet is, as long as it's repetitive for a period of time
How long? It depends If you are Pitta Vata at most 7 days If PK then 14 days
Psychological Detoxification
I've divided the body and mind apart for discussion purposes but we should be clear here that from an energy science perspective the mind and body are intimately spliced They're one and the same What is mind is body and what is body is mind You can't separate them As a matter of fact detoxification of the physical body does psychological detox and psychological detox does physical detox That's how intimately spliced we are
Detox of the mind reduces mental ama and involves a form of monodiet as well But this monodiet is in the form of reducing mental activity The energy science is very clear that in order to remove mental ama some form of activity that reduces mental activity is most important
Why? Since we want to improve psychological agni we want to fast from thoughts The best way to do this is by meditation There are many ways to meditate The simplest is probably the most effective and involves watching the breath If you want you can add a mental instrument to trap the mind's attention using SO HUM SO on inhalation and HUM on exhalation
Breathing exercises can be meditative as well as yoga posture practice if done properly
The Benefits of Detoxification
When we improve agni there are great gifts Probably the most important is mental clarity and therefore peace, less emotional turmoil When the GIT is given some time off there is improved digestion and elimination We simply digest food better Here are some benefits from doing detoxification
Loss of cravings Feeling of lightness after eating Good taste perception
Steady weight Normal GI elimination Vigor vitality strength stamina
Healthy glow Mental clarity Sound sleep
Alertness Discrimination, intelligence Direction determination courage
Joy cheerfulness Contentment Affection enthusiasm
Patience Longevity Confidence
All because we have given our mindbody a break and improved our agni
To Health as a Skill DB
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Varicose Veins: The Sign of Stagnant Energy
The beauty of a baby is her pristine energy field unencumbered with the energy blockages that we adults gather with time. I think that is what is so alluring about baby's energy. It reminds us of what we once were-a pure unadulterated energy field.
As we make unconscious choices through our lives we gather energy blockages that eventually need to be dealt with. But these blockages are great lessons if we are willing to learn from them. And these blockages can become severe and cause problems if we don't head them off.
One of the things that can happen in the energy field of the mindbody is stagnant energy, that is energy that gets stuck and cannot move through a part of the mindbody. The sign of stagnant energy in the mindbody is loss of the ability to feel because this is how we are aware of the energy mindbody in the first place.
An example of this is varicose veins. When the blood begins to pool in the lower extremities and the energy or blood in this case has poor flow. It's stuck. This can be related to blocked flow at the level of the hips which impedes blood return to the heart. The hips become rigid, inflexible and tight such that energy flow through and around the hip joint is impeded.
As the energy flow in the skin becomes reduced the capillaries become engorged and the small veins coming from them become tortuous and superficial. This is related to the poor outflow from the leg resulting from decreased venous outflow from the leg.
The energy can become so slow in flow that the venous support impedes blood flow even more poorly and the legs begin to become boggy and swollen. The important aspect of this clinical scenario is the loss of sensation of energy flow. Typically when energy is flowing normally, we can sense the subtle movement of energy noted as tingling lightness of the skin. When severe stagnation occurs as in varicosities of the lower extremities, there is such heaviness that such sensations are not present.
The loss of the ability to feel the legs and the movement of energy is serious business. Of course, the person involved with the varicosities is usually not aware of his/her energy mindbody anyway, but if they are able to deal with the problem the return of sensation becomes quite obvious as the swelling and skin changes resolve.
Soooo... striving to be sensate aware of the mindbody's changes in sensation is important because we can take corrective measures that will minimize the damage before all the severe debilities show up.
This is the power of prevention that comes directly from sensing the mindbody's energy field before dis-ease progresses. To good health and sensation DrBill
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5 Tips to Enhance Agni
In the energy science of Ayurveda there can be no disease without the presence of toxicity In this discipline it's called AMA(this doesn't stand for the American Medical Association) which means undigested, unprocessed food Hmmm, if I have unprocessed, undigested food hanging around in my GIT(GI tract) that must mean that my digestive capability is in some way impaired? Bingo
Toxicity and Disease
So in the end the root cause of all disease is the presence of bodily AMA And to heal any disease whether it be rheumatoid arthritis, IBS, GERD, or fibromyalgia I must address AMA in the body
AMA physically is a substance that is thick(dense), sticky, heavy, slow to move, cold, slimy, and gross(meaning easy to spot in the body) Think of a thick plaque in a vessel wall that obstructs blood flow and you have a good idea of what AMA is And just like that plaque impairs flow of blood to the tissues that it supplies, energetically it impairs the flow of energy in the body
When there is energy stagnation in the physical or mental body there can be pain, either physical or emotional
So when you have pain somewhere in your body it implies that there is energetic stagnation and the free flow of energy has been disrupted
The Importance of Digestive Fire
So if all diseases have AMA and my digestive fire is weak, then if I want to clear the diseases such as autoimmune disease then I should work on improving my digestive power or agni(the words fire, power, strength, and agni are all used interchangeably here) This is a radical departure from current medical thinking since the models are so different But then again that's why the energy model can be successful since it understands the origin of disease from an energy science view
So the first item on the agenda in healing disease is to improve digestion, absorption, and assimilation of the GIT
1 CCF tea Cumin, coriander and fennel tea is elemental to improve digestion because it stokes agni That's why sipping on this tea all day, everyday is helpful for clearing AMA
2 Stop putting wet logs on your digestion When I entertain foods that don't resonate with my energy makeup(go to foodsheal.com) or use IFC(incompatible food combinations) it's like dampening my agni which is all the enzyme systems of the GIT from the mouth to lower rectum including the bacteria which are also part of agni
3 Using other agni enhancers Fresh ginger tea with a dash of cayenne(agni tea), cardamon, vanilla, cinnamon, turmeric are all excellent agni enhancers that I can use in my cooking or beverages to enhance agni
4 Breathing techniques(pranayama) Interestingly the yoga tradition has many different ways to physically enhance agni These breathing techniques can change the course of IC due to the power of clearing AMA
5 Yoga postures The digestive system is represented in the space of the abdomen and when you do postures that engage this area you literally engage agni and improve it From a molecular point of view this cannot be understood but energetically it makes perfect sense
So there you have it A starter sequence that can get you on your way to healing IC Oh, BTW, people have AMA and because they feel OK, they don't think they have toxic load They're only fooling themselves Everybody has it, it just depends where it's going to show up
Another thing The AMA that occurs in the urinary tract channel has a good chance of getting cleared When the AMA starts showing up in other places (like fibromyalgia) it's more difficult, doable but harder
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Multiple Treatments for Multiple Causes
Have you ever stopped to consider the many approaches that it takes to change something You may try one thing, then add another and then see if something else may help At times health is a trial and error process-trying to find the right remedy
From an energy perspective this is exactly the way healing occurs It's just not about just lifestyle choices, not just about nutritional work or the medicines or herbs or yoga therapy and pranayama that are taken or done-it's about all these things that are done that will make a difference in our health
This is because the energy field responds to more than one band of vibrational frequency The change occurs over many bands of frequencies to make a difference And doing exercise such as yoga does have a vibrational impact on the physiology if done on a consistent basis The same is true about certain vibrational frequencies that we call food
When we eat foods that enhance balance, such as green beans, they nourish the energy mindbody and produce equilibrium of the energy field because of their nuturing of specific vibrational frequencies in the energy field
Eating at specific times lends to more balance especially having the biggest meal at noon All these nutritional "tools" promote balance and then we get healthier even though we may not feel that way Health then becomes a skill that we work at and over time we physiologically get more balance energetically and hence get healthier.
To good health DrBill
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Energy Science and Spirituality: What It Means
To be spiritual is to be in touch with our senses. Does this sound surprising? In spiritual terms we tend to denigrate the mindbody with its sensations because deep down we believe that the sensual experience has nothing to do with the transcendency of spirituality.
But to personally access our soul, our level of spiritual being, we have to use our senses and the easiest way to access the energy field is through our senses and breath. In so doing, we quiet the mindbody. When we quiet the mindbody and the breath, we "drop in" to that universal state of being that we are. This process is a form of meditation called yoga nidra and with practice, this level of awareness can be accessed any time.
To drop in means to access our awareness.
If we are aware, we stand a chance of being healthier. All the supplements in the world will not get us health. We will not access health through molecules or the current matter field model.
But if we access the energy field through our sensate mindbody, we begin becoming aware of what feels correct for us at any given moment.
But when we tap into the sensate experience of life and our personal existence, we are actually becoming more aware. We are no longer trapped by thoughts, concepts, prior perceptions, beliefs, ideas or previous conditioning because sensations are in the present now.
When we live in the now, we recognize our sensate mindbody as what is truth in the moment. If the mindbody reports hot,sharp/penetrating and light after a pungent spicy meal and maybe experiencesStones out of balanceheartburn, we know that an imbalance has been created in mindbody. This is not to judge the experience as right or wrong, good or bad. It is simply to witness or be aware of the imbalance that we have created with the experience.
When we live through the sensate mindbody, we will create better health and have the chance of averting significant imbalance in the future.
To good health Dr Bill
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Heartburn and Fermented Foods
It's clear that foods can heal but the converse of this statement is also true: Foods can make us sick But why is it that Molly can eat certain foods and you can't? It has to do with the qualities that increase in Molly and the qualities that increase in you AND which qualities bring about balance for Molly and which cause imbalance for you
We are all uniquely different and what brings about the pain of hyperacidity syndrome(HAS) and gastroesophageal reflux(GERD) is different for each of us The bottom line is that once the imbalance of qualities becomes apparent you have to do something about it and the first thing to assess is what foods are causing this imbalance
Fermented Foods and Imbalance
As I have written about in previous blogs the most important quality that causes HAS/GERD is hot Along with the mobile quality these two cause the predominant symptoms of these common diseases So from what I've just said it behooves us to look at those foods that carry these qualities and produce the imbalance
Anything that's acidic carries the hot quality It's not the only way to get this quality but it's a predominant one because the sour taste is the acid taste in Nature(fyi, the bitter is the alkaline taste in Nature) So any foods that create acidity are bound to effect an imbalancing change in the body with respect to the hot quality
Foods that carry the sour, salty and pungent tastes will give us the hot quality in certain measures so should be avoided in the HAS/GERD pain syndrome
So you can see that fermented foods in your nutrition would be problematic but also the foods that can be fermented when they enter the GIT(GI tract) are also an issue When you follow the nutritional format at icdiet.com(called a Pitta pacifying diet because it reduces that hot quality) or the one at foodsheal.com you'll automatically begin removing the hot quality from your nutrition As I've written about before, homemade yogurt is alright in moderation unless you have severe symptoms(that is, NO store bought yogurt) or you have a Kapha constitution
This removes the difficulty in deciding what is safe and what is not For example, lime doesn't carry as much of the hot quality as its mature fruit the lemon, so lime is safe and lemon is not
Foods That Ferment Within Us
What about foods that are not fermented outside but when we bring them inside out GIT they become acidic and produce the hot quality?
A beautiful example of this process is fruit when added with other foods Fruit by itself is innocent but when added with other foods can produce the hot quality(increasing acidity)
But there are many examples that don't include fruits, such as beans with meat and cheese (taco, enchilada, etc), eggs with meat or cheese(that's an omlete), and milk with fruit(the morning smoothie)
All of these incompatible food combinations are deadly traps for the IC patient because of this internal fermentation process that occurs in all of us
3 Things To Do
Here are three things to do to get appropriate guidance with this whole fermentation nutritional business
1 Eat according to the above nutritional formats at icdiet.com or foodsheal.com(be sure to take the quiz before selecting the format for yourself)
2 At foodsheal.com there is a section on incompatible food combinations
3 Do breathing exercises to reduce acidity in the body
All the best in your healing journey DB
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IBS and Debilitating Mucous
The matter science discipline struggles with the IBS(irritable bowel syndrome) attempting to use pharmaceuticals to manage symptoms but since it doesn't know the origin of disease, pharmaceuticals is the best that it can offer
The energy science model relates that the vast majority of disease begins in the GI tract This is why nutrition becomes the first mainstay of therapy Of course it depends on what kind of nutritional advice is given Molecular nutritional advice is at best guess work based on molecular guesswork as the molecular approach doesn't have a holistic approach
It's estimated that the US prevalence is about 8-16% of people have severe signs and symptoms of IBS The cost of providing care for this disease is a remarkable estimated 1.5 billion dollars(and that's without any definable treatment, therefore no solution) From my vantage point in dealing with patients.....it's much more than this as many patients don't seek medical consultation for minor symptoms that come and go And this makes sense because of what I just related about the origin of almost all chronic diseases
The Relationship of IC and IBS
From the energy science model the symptoms of IBS are related to poor digestive strength, or what is called agni in the energy science This leads to the increased qualities of hot, dry and mobile which leave the GI tract and lodge in weak bodily areas predisposed to disease This can lead to such disease enigmas as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome Anxiety related are also related to IBS, such as headache, TMJ, chronic pelvic pain disorders, and menstrual disorders
The symptoms of IBS are related to those after eating when gas and bloating occur with or without change in bowel pattern Hyperacidity of the stomach(functional dyspepsia) and GERD have higher than normal associations with IBS explained again from the energy science model
Understanding IBS and Mucous
Incapacitating IBS that is severe As I said earlier the cause of IBS is poor digestive strength Once this process of poor digestion is set in motion the accumulation of undigested unprocessed food leads to disruption of absorption and assimilation of food leading to toxicity
But all of these digestive disruptions lead to increased mucous production by the lining of the GI tract Because of the hot and dry qualities in the GI tract this mucous over time becomes thick and ropey and creates intermittent functional bowel obstruction, leading to bloating and pockets of gas Another serious problem with this inspissated mucous is that it is incredibly inflammatory producing severe cramping pain especially when it is being passed through the lower rectosigmoid and rectal segments of the large bowel
Over years this mucous becomes a major obstacle to clearing symptoms not only in the bowel but also the bladder And both systems create symptoms that interrelate causing a constellation of symptoms that are uninterpretable by the matter science doctors
What To Do?
If early on in symptoms using licorice or slippery elm can serve as demulcents to the problematic mucous Until the mucous is cleared the symptoms won't be relieved But the healing process of bowel recovery is another hurdle that has to be managed until the gas and bloating is controlled
The important realization to the management of these difficult situations is that the process of healing from an energy science view requires time There is no magic fix, no magic pill, no magic operation Only patience, diligence, and the courage to do the work
All the best in your healing journey DB
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Most of us have gone without food for one reason or another and experienced a very strong appetite as a result. Seems pretty straight forward, doesn't it? Don't eat and we get hungry.
But let's examine this process energetically. What happens from an energy perspective.
As we volitionally go without food for a period of time, the enzyme system of the gut collectively known as the digestive fire, ramps up since it is not being used by food. This creates increasing appetite since the energy field's transformative energy is increasing and appetite is an expression of the health of the mindbody's fire in the gut.
But if we continue this process withholding food for several days, something very interesting occurs energetically. Since the fire is not being fed fuel(food), it begins to lessen in its intensity. This is similar to what happens with a campfire, right? If we don't feed the campfire any more wood, what happens? The fire becomes a glowing set of embers. Very hot but not the same kind of fire.
The embers of a campfire is analogous to the detoxification fire that begins the slow burning of undigested stagnant energy in the mindbody. In reality these islands of stagnant energy get heated up so that they can begin moving again and restore the free flow of energy in the physiology once again.
Soooo... here's to health energetically! Love DrBill
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