“I Eat Healthy” or Do I?
One common refrain I often hear from my patients is that "I eat healthy." And we all want to believe that we are doing the very best for our bodies. But have we ever stopped to assess what this statement means?
If healthy means eating lots of fruits and vegetables, that might be healthy. But some would contend that eating raw vegetables would be even more nutritious. Perhaps eating less meat would be considered healthy. Eating fast food might not be considered healthy. Or avoiding refined sugar would be healthy. Or I only eat organic.
But all of these statements miss a very important point. Whether corn is organic, the vegetable is raw, the meat is buffalo or the fast food is nutritious, the food to be healthy must resonate with our physiology. So corn, even if organic, if it doesn't resonate with my physiology(and for me it doesn't) then I shouldn't be eating it.
Currently there is no nutritional system that has guidelines grounded in a science that globally addresses the nutritional needs of the human physiology. And we will not find it in our present nutritional system followed by the medical matter field healing system.
Best Dr Bill
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Feeling Bad After Eating
Haven't you had the experience of eating a meal and not feeling well afterward? Sometimes you attribute it to food poisoning which might be the case, but most of the time it is a physiologic consequence that defies an easy explanation.
You should never ignore a message from your body telling you of distress even though you can't explain it. And there are two explanations of the digestive symptoms after eating It may be a result of imbalancing choices that you make through your nutritional choices or poor digestion of the foods you ate
For today let's focus on your choices The foods consumed caused some imbalance in your gut. When you eat a hot spicy meal, sometimes the result is heartburn. There is a chemical burning in the stomach experienced near the heart we call heartburn or acid indigestion. This increased acidity in the stomach is a result of too much hot among other qualities taken in.
But what if you can't associate something eaten with feeling bad after a meal? Does that mean that there isn't a imbalance caused by the foods? Surprisingly poor food choices are pretty common and you should check the foods list for your energy body at foodsheal.com or pick up the Kindle version of the book for FREE
Let's take a look how imbalances show up in the body by eating excess qualities, for example of salt. If you ingested three tablespoons of salt, there would be clearly physiologic consequences or imbalance. You would become very thirsty, your blood pressure would transiently rise, your saliva would increase and you would urinate more frequently. Hot sensations would occur with flushing and acid indigestion might occur. Since the salty taste has a laxative effect, it might stimulate a bowel movement. So all of these changes occur in your body because of the consequence of excess salt.
If these changes can occur with excess salt, why couldn't simple ingestion of salt lead to gut imbalances if preexisting imbalance of qualities already exist? From an energy perspective this is one of the reasons why food can produce physiologic consequences of imbalance soon after eating.
To health as a skill Have a great week DrBill
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Nutrition and Monitoring the Effects of Food
Nutrition is more than diet Diet is a molecular assessment of foods ingested (how many carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins) It does not take into account who is taking the foods in, does not evaluate the affect that foods have on you, and does not take into account the strength of your digestion In short diet does not factor you into the equation In diet the only observations made is whether foods cause weight gain and molecular disturbances (obsession with fats, cholesterol, fructose) And there is nothing incorrect about the molecular dietary approach It's just that nutrition is so much more
Nutrition
Nutrition evaluates energetically who is taking the foods, whether the foods are balancing for the body, evaluates the strength of the metabolism through the assessment of appetite, examines the physiologic effects of foods, and in every step it's a discipline to bring you along in the feeding of your body by monitoring bodily functions
Because nutrition is about not only the consumption of a type of food and whether it brings about balance in the physiology, but also about when to take the biggest meal of the day, how to pay attention to how the mindbody feels after eating (is there congestion in the back of the throat with dairy ingestion, do I have heartburn after eating? do I feel sluggish with little energy?), attention to why we are eating(perhaps emotional ones), or following the simple directive of always sitting to allow ourselves to focus on the activity of eating
Nutrition and Bowel Function
So now that we have taken in the food, how does gut feel about that food? Is there loose stool after eating? Does a bowel movement occur after eating? Or is there no bowel movement for the the day or even for 2 or 3 days? A normal bowel pattern is a morning movement after drinking water and then a bowel movement 2 hours after eating. We should have at least one stool per day being formed and soft like a banana, at times fragmenting when it hits the water. The form is important and viewed at http://gapsdiet.com/Stools.html. Stools should float and not sink. If they sink, it is a sign of stagnant energy in the GI tract. And there should be no aroma. If there is, harmful bacteria exist in the colon that shouldn't be there. Improving digestive fire would be a partial solution by using probiotic for an extended period of time(1-2 years-freshly made yogurt, kefir) and use of chlorella.
Often the change in bowel activity can be related to the alteration in eating pattern. If we are fasting then it would be obvious that the bowel pattern or rhythm would change. Provoking bowel activity with foods or emotions is a common reason for alteration in pattern. Diarrhea, that is any stool that is looser than a formed soft stool, can occur due to unexpressed fear, or ingested foods that lead to the overabundance of the sour, salty or pungent tastes
Colonic Function and Nutrition
If the colon is not functioning properly constipation or diarrhea is the result
Using triphala is a a great way to help not only colon function but the entire gut function If constipated titratng up from a 0.5 tsp to where you have a stool everyday is a good start It's best to use the powder form of herbs You can make a tea by boiling the herb for 5 min, strain and drink or just take it straight up with a water chaser
Alternate nostrill breathing(ANB) is a way to help settle the mindbody and produce a bowel movement. This time honored breathing technique should link the breath with the process of having a bowel movment using exhalation with the downward evacuation of the lower colon. Even if you're having regular bowel activity, it would be fun to experiment with the technique. If not familiar with ANB, you can google it.
Lastly a bidet like device is helpful to clean the anal area after stooling. Simple to use and easy to install it's very useful. You can google or go to http://www.thebidetsolution
Until next time To Health as a Skill DrB
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“Oh, he thinks the molecules do it!”
A friend of mine is a well trained matter field physician in the field of endocrinology having received training at several prestigious centers in the US and abroad. Due to the unique nature of the discipline he found himself drawn to explore the energy field of the mindbody.
In one of his sojourns he found himself speaking to a group of energy field physicians on how certain hormones interact with receptor sites in the body.
It was a series of talks and each time he found a sea of puzzled faces as he carefully took them through the molecular workings of the physiology of the endocrine system.
The third discussion led to the same returning polite group of puzzled faces. He repititiously and earnestly went over the information to explain his molecular material. At the break he saw one of the participants turn to his friends and exclaim, "Oh, I get it! He thinks the molecules do it!"
The story describes two perspectives, both valid. But what if, just what if, we could entertain both viewpoints. Why you ask? The most important reason is that there is a system of prevention in the energy field work. And I believe we are all after how to prevent dis-ease.
The reason that the energy science can be a system of prevention is because it understands the origin of disease which the matter science discipline will never be able to do, simply because all disease begins in the energy field and percolates up into the matter field to be expressed This is the important difference in the two disciplines and why the energy field discipline is so vital to our health as we go forward
To Health as a Skill Love DrBill
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Is Genetic Expression Fixed? What That Means for Nutrition
Most matter field science has looked at the nervous system as a fixed physiologic and anatomic structure. But that concept is being challenged with a new concept called neuroplasticity. Now researchers are witnessing people who have had strokes and paralysis who are able to recover some function and in one reported case complete recovery. That the nervous system can heal itself from vascular injury From an energy science view the nervous system is the most malleable and changeable of the tissues in the body
Now another concept is beginning to emerge to challenge another medical sacred cow That genetic expression is a fixed, unchanging and unyielding blueprint. In a journal article in September 2005, Dr Dean Ornish reported that patients with prostate cancer changed their genetic expression to tumor by altering their nutrition Not only did their genetic expression turn off repressor genes but turned on important genes to combat tumor Furthermore these patients increased their T killer cell response to tumor cells eight fold
So a new biological concept is potentially emerging-genetic plasticity (a new field called epigenetics) And the remarkable cause of this genetic shifiting event was a change in nutrition!!
This molecular evaluation points to what the energy medical sciences have held for thousands of years That one of the main pillars to health is nutrition and they built elaborate sophisticated systems around nutrition This means not just what we eat but when we eat, where we eat, how we eat and why we eat. That is the interrogatories of eating
This concept of genetic plasticity is just one more reason why we need to take a very hard look at how we deal with nutrition And the energy medical sciences can give guidance to the matter field medical sciences as practiced today
Let me know what your impression of this blog post is I'd really like to know whether you found this information helpful To Health as a Skill DrBill
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Distraction Digestion and Attention
My car was in the shop getting a window fixed so a friend took me into work. I was interested to find my friend munching on a piece of toast with peanut butter slathered over the top, washed down with a vitamin drink and conversing about a cellphone call just received. While it is possible for us to multitask from an energy perspective the problem arises in our digestion.
You see, as we know, it's not possible to do things well if we are distracted and can't put our attention on what we are doing. Just think when you have been given directions but not really paying attention and then try to remember the directions well. So digestion of the food consumed will not be as good as if we are paying attention. There is good information to demonstrate that food is digested differently when we are attentive to the process.
Further our digestive fire works best when we are in a balanced state. If our sympathetic, fight or flight nervous system is working overtime and our parasympathetic, relaxing nervous system is not balancing, there is an overabundance of sympathetic tone in our energy mindbody physiology. This eating on the run leads to increased sympathetic tone which is not promoting to good digestion simply because the gut is robbed of blood flow which is needed for adequate absorption and assimilation of digested food.
So though it seems convenient, it's preferable to enjoy our food consumed in a relaxed environment with a balance of sympathetic tone. It may seem like we are getting away with it but by and by there are accumulated imbalances created in the energy mindbody that can lead to health related issues due to carrying on such a habit.
To good health DrBill
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Consistency is the Key to Healing and Prevention
Anything worth doing, is worth doing for a long while
II think we have all made the observation of rock that has a groove in it from the steady drip of water moving over the rock surface. Perhaps to our amazement we remember that over time even the softness of water is capable of eroding even the hardest and seemingly most immobile surface of rock through the consistency of its action.
In past blogs we have referred to the balance that exists in Nature. The hard, static, dense surface of the rock gives way to the soft, mobile, liquid qualities of water. The matter field is gross and the energy field is subtle. Because of knowing ourselves in the matter field context(bone is hard and blood is wet) we identify with the gross characteristics of our lives.
But it is in the subtleness of the energy field where real healing takes place. It is consistency in action that can literally move mountains. Another word for consistency is intention. In the flow of Nature we see intention at work as we observe the rock being carved by the action of water.
What does this have to do with medicine, healing and preventing disease? From a medical perspective, everything! Because without intention, there will be no healing even in medical matter field discipline. If you don't take your blood pressure medicine then hypertension and the possibilty of the complications of stroke and heart attack are increased.
From a disesase prevention perspective, intention or consistency(even the word discipline comes up) when guided by subtle energy field principles, can show us health promoting habits that promote balance in our lives.
Some simple examples. Bedtime between 9:30 and 10:30 pm every night is a great habit of health. The biggest meal of the day around noon time takes advantage of a strong digestive fire. These are habits that are subtle, but over time they will produce healing benefits. The energy nutrition as outlined in Foods Heal is a powerful way to heal the body if done consistently.
In future blogs I'll talk about the healing properties of food. Stay tuned!! DrBill
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5 Tools for Empowered Self Healing
"Self empowerment is the key to a healthy life. Simply put, it means you can take charge of the things you do in your life in order to create and maintain the health you want. If you suffer a life threatening illness, you are fully capable of making the choices and changes necessary to help your body heal. It's up to you and you alone; no one else can do it for you. Healing and maintaining your health is your responsibility, not the doctor's. The doctors job is to help you buy time to heal." Use this time well and begin planning now what you want your life to be after you recover!
Glenn Warner MD (1919-2000)
Dr Warner was an oncologist but a maverick for his times because he told his cancer patients that they should take control His colleagues felt differently and eventually got his medical license revoked Today he is revered as a consummate healer who was ahead of his time in suggesting something as innocent as taking responsibility for our own healing
The Current Medical Model
The pain of chronic disease can be draining and we want to be free of it
Currently the matter science medical discipline practiced as the allopathic tradition has had the underlying treatment tenet that if you have a medical problem you should go to the medical doctor(MD) The MD has studied the diseases and he knows what the answer should be or at least has the scientific background to figure out a plausible and reasonable treatment solution
This is the medical standard under which we unconsciously live And the MD has the high tech tools at his disposal to make this standard very strong in our culture And I argue that there is great value for such a high tech system to "bail us out of catastrophic medical problems"
If you unknowingly create diabetes and come to the office with severe ketoacidosis, there is the capability to deal with the problem and straighten out this metabolic disease Or if you have a life threatening injury from a car accident, the medical tradition can bring you back
A Problem
But the singular problem that has occurred with this matter science discipline is that it has unwittingly wrested away from you the responsibility for your own health at a subconscious level
And when that happens you naturally put all of the trust in the MD and his way of doing things The next high tech research will solve my IC The next drug will help me in some way
When relying on alternative therapies for the treatment of IC, you enter a different realm of healing But carrying your old mindset of the MD will take care of me doesn't translate When you enter this world of healing you will have to be ready to assume responsibility for healing
And this is NOT like "going it alone" which is very scary You should have and expect guidance in this road of travel if you so chose it
What does that look like, this responsibility for self healing?
I think there are at least 5 awareness tools to assume self healing and become empowered to take responsibility
1 Understand that self healing takes time
2 In this realm of healing multiple therapies are the absolute key to healing
3 Guidance with understanding the lay of the land is of value to help facilitate change
4 Remember baby steps Self healing often requires changes in lifestyle behaviors, such as nutrition, exercise, or changing bedtimes or wakeup times
5 Be aware that the mind's fear of change will argue to abandon this whole empowerment thing
This last tool of awareness is probably the most important because it's our fears played out in friend's "good advice" and well meaning family members(spouses included) who deter you from your path to empowerment Everyone wants you to maintain the status quo
But the question is, "How's it workin' for ya?"
Most with chronic IC, if honest will have to say, "Well, not so hot" There's a common aphorism, "If you keep going out the same door and falling into a hole, the solution is to find another door"
Here's for looking for another door To Health as a Skill Love DrBill
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The Unidimensional Approach to Healing and IBS
In the energy science world of healing it's not just one thing but a mulitiplicity of treatments that you do that brings about healing of your body This is in contrast from the matter science model of healing that says if you do just this one thing (take a pill) you will get major benefit such that you won't have to do anything else For example if your blood pressure is high then take this pill and you'll be better Or better yet, take two or three different types of pills and you'll be better
So pill popping is the ONE way to deal with any disease in matter science medicine And there's nothing wrong with that approach except for the fact that it usually doesn't work very well
Energy Science Healing
Because of the nature of the energy science model of healing using a qualitative approach not all qualities that are out of balance can be addressed with just one approach For example, the hot quality of IBS exhibiting as mixed diarrhea and constipation can be reliably dealt with by using cooling herbs such as CCF tea, aloe vera gel, and the antiinflammatory herbs that I have written about in the past
But the symptoms of urgency, frequency, and to some degree of pain are related to the qualities of light, subtle, rough, and dry These are best managed not only with herbs but with internal and external oleation with or without marma therapy, a nutritional format for your mindbody constitution, and basti therapy that I have discussed in the past
So you can see that in energy work it's not just one thing but a multiplicity of things that are used in order to bring about balance of the qualities that are out of whack and producing the symptoms that you're experiencing all the time
Anxiety and IBS
There are two types of IBS according to the energy science of Ayurveda The first is a Pitta imbalance in the GI tract where the hot quality produces an urgent need for stooling after meals The second produces a dull aching pain in the lower abdomen and discomfort after eating This latter condition is related to first Vata aggravation and secondarily Pitta imbalance So from a practical view IBS is a Vata or Pitta imbalance
If you're experiencing symptoms in the body then there is an imbalance being expressed So if you're experiencing anxiety with IBS there is a Vata imbalance in the nervous system as well as the gut of the qualities of light, subtle, clear, and mobile See that some of the same qualities that are producing diarrhea, constipation, gas, and bloating are some of the same qualities that are creating anxiety This is why people with IBS often are anxious about their disease or imbalance which is completely understandable from an energy science point of view
In this case however some of the aforementioned therapies would be different For example the herbs used would be those that would calm the nervous system; yoga asana practice is particularly effective (halasana, locust, chest knee, and uttanasana); yoga nidra as a form of meditation or a practice of calming the mind could be done; and aromatherapy Here you see a group of therapies quite different from the above treatment for the hot (Pitta) quality because different qualities are being treated in order to bring them into balance
Another Important Difference from the Matter Science Model of Healing
Thus far I have talked about the pill oriented unidimensional approach with the matter science healing model and contrasted that to the energy science multifaceted approach to disease
But another important difference is the time of exposure to treatment Real healing takes time So the rule is that for every year of imbalance it will take two months of treatment for recovery And then you're done Not a bad tradeoff
Let's see forever having symptoms and using pills
with the matter science approach versus 2-3 years with the energy science approach Which would you choose?
Please like this on FB or here at the website if you find this helpful and valuable
Until next week To Health as a Skill Love Dr Bill
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Ancient Medical Wisdom: All Disease Begins in the Gut
All Diseases Begin In the Gut
Hippocrates 460-370 BC
The traditional healing systems such as Ayurveda from India and the Traditional Oriental Medical system both saw the body as an energy field and built elaborate healing sciences around the concept that the body is an energy field. Today we know from Einstein that this is indeed correct, that what is energy is matter and what is matter is energy, from the famous equation E=MC2.
One of the greatest gifts that the energy science of Ayurveda gives us is the understanding of how all diseases begin in the body. Ayurveda began with this understanding 5000 years ago and the Greeks who were students of the medical disciplines of India began to realize this as well, hence leading to the above quote from Hippocrates that all diseases begin in the gut.
And this has been my experience in practicing the matter field discipline of urology in the office over the past 14 years. I have even written a scientific paper showing among other things that acidity in the gut as experienced with acid indigestion is associated with increased acidity in the urinary tract as experienced with nonbacterial cystitis or interstitial cystitis. Or using acid as the molecular marker, this same gut imbalance can lead to elevated PSA.
So this simple observation from the energy science healing traditions can give our current matter field healing discipline valuable insight as to the propagation of disease and the interrelationship of disease.
And this observation is why nutrition is central to prevention of disease! Eating foods that resonate with your own physiology on a regular basis, avoiding poor food combinations, ensuring a good digestive fire to burn slip ups, and paying attention to the interrogatories of nutrition will ensure optimal health.
Have a great week To Health as a Skill Love DrBill
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