Category Archives: bladder

The Amazing Bowel Herb and the Flares of IC

bladder, bladder pain, IBS, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, , , ,

Spices at the MarketThe painful bladder flares of IC that disrupt relationships, affect social planning, and by and large make life very hard are poorly understood from a molecular point of view   The matter science medical perspective of disease is that the molecules cause disease   In contrast the energy science medicine sees all disease beginning in the GI tract as an imbalance as an imbalance of qualities

This contrast is important because it means the difference between tolerating the misery of flares versus clearing the disease that causes the flares

The Interface Between INSIDE and OUTSIDE

The energy science states that all of matter both inside the body and outside the body is made up of 10 pairs of vibrational frequencies each named as a quality (hot/cold, dry/oily etc)   This means the same qualities that energetically make are the food you consume are the same qualities that compose the body

When you take in a hot chili the quality of hot is taken in through the bowel interface and the quality of hot is increased in the body because of the choice to have that hot chili that increases the possibility of a flare   So the bowel surface becomes the membrane by which you experience the external world   Since the hot quality produces in large part IC and flares, you can see how important nutrition is in interstitial cystitis

Establishing Balance in the Body

Now that IC and flares are occurring for you, the excess hot quality is present in the body   There is an obvious imbalance in the body   How can you get rid of it and hence your flares?   That is bring about balance of the hot and cold qualities

You can stop adding more hot quality by changing your nutrition and not using incompatible food combinations, that’s one way   But another effective way is to reduce the amount of the hot quality in the gut and suck the hot quality back into the GI tract so it can be eliminated from the body

This is where a bowel herb like triphala can be useful   In this particular case of IC, triphala causes the reduction in the hot quality and urges the return of hot to the GI tract

Triphala

This herb is a standard prescription in the energy science of Ayurveda because it has the above effect   It balances all phases of digestion, absorption, assimilation and elimination    In the end it produces balance in the GI tract by tonifying or strengthening the bowel function   It’s very helpful for those with IC with complication IBS

Everyone who is struggling with painful flares and disruption in relationships due to IC should be taking triphala   My personal bias is that the powder form should be used over tablet form since there may be many additives in the tablet form

The best time to take the herb is at bedtime and this helps stimulate the colon for elimination the next morning   You can take the half a  teaspoon of powder straight up with water or boil for 5 minutes, strain, and drink as a tea in the evening

You can try it out with a small 2.5oz package that’s $5 with instructions on the package at this link

Another way to get this herbal formula is at ic solutions store at this link 

Until next week                     To Health as a Skill     Love Dr Bill

 

IC and Freedom from Pain and Anxiety of a Damaged Bladder

bladder, bladder pain, GERD, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, , , , ,

PillsIn 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 IC   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 the pain of  interstitial cystitis (IC) in matter science medicine   And there’s nothing wrong with that approach except for the fact that it usually doesn’t work most of the time

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 IC exhibiting as burning on urination and heartburn or acid indigestion can be reliably dealt with by 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 or when flares occur

Anxiety About Bladder Damage

If you’re experiencing symptoms in the body then there is an imbalance being expressed   So if you’re experiencing anxiety there’s an imbalance in the nervous system of the qualities of light, subtle, clear, and mobile   See that the same qualities that are producing frequency, urgency, and pain are some of the same qualities that are creating anxiety   This is why people with IC often are anxious about their disease or imbalance which is completely understandable and why they need the qualities of heavy, gross, cloudy, and static   These qualities provide grounding and stability

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 could be used, 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 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 one step 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 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

5 Ways to Heal IC Anxiety

bladder, bladder pain, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

In many different encounters with IC patients over the years I’ve found that there is often a feeling of ungroundedness from lack of direction, a feeling of being without a rudder, and the uncertainty as to whether this problem will ever go away

This feeling gives a sense of insecurity about the future (will I have this the rest of my life?), a feeling of hopelessness, and overall anxiety born out of the fear that IC will never go away  There is a feeling of loss of control over the body (not making to the bathroom) due to not knowing what has been done to cause the symptoms in the first place

There can be insomnia due to this free floating anxiety that is difficult to manage  And all of this is an energy drain leading to fatigue and loss of get up and go (as one described “bone weary”)  This leads to a sense of failure, restriction, and exasperation, anger, and irritability

But what if this feeling went away?  All respond that to have this anxiety lifted would be miraculous and they would be ecstatic, elated, energized and be able to dream again  They would be able to contribute again  One patient said, “It would be like getting a ‘Get out jail’ card”  or like “winning the lottery”

The Role of Stress and Symptoms of IC

Even though many respond that the symptoms are accelerated with stress, deadlines, and troubled relationships the matter science cannot offer an answer as to why this occurs  But the energy science using the VPK energy paradigm sees that mind is in every cell of the body  So in IC what happens in the mind, happens in the bladder!

For example, Vata, the energy pattern of movement has the qualities of cold, light, mobile, dry, rough, subtle, and clear  The body is thin (light) and the mind is subtle, light, and mobile making it very creative but susceptible to anxiety and fear

Can you see how stress could then cause bladder symptoms? If the mind is light and mobile then so will the bladder become those same qualities, light and mobile translating into frequency and urgency  And if this Vata energy stimulates the hot quality of Pitta then you’ve got a flare

The Solutions

Mind turbulence creates body turbulence so the key in this situation is to reduce the mind’s activity  Here are 5 ways to do that

1  Meditation using breath awareness  If you have trouble sitting for twenty minutes in the morning and evening just do 5 minutes and build up your tolerance  If it’s just not possible to sit then try just being aware of the breath during daily activities  Mental turmoil is the result of too much pent up energy in the mind  Meditation helps release this energy and consistent practice helps keeps this energy reduced  This therapy improves creativity, attention span, memory retrieval, and learning ability  Due to these effects it brings about a sense of confidence and courage that you can do this!

2 Breathing techniques  There are mind settling breathing techniques such as alternate nostril breathing or making the sound of a bumblebee that can calm the mindbody

3 Herbs  There are a number of herbs that placed with specific carrying agents that calm the mind  Brahmi, shankha pushpi, saraswati, and jatamamsi all have medicinal benefits on the mind, producing a calming effect

4  Daily oil massage  The use of self applied oil massage in the morning before showering can ground (heavy) the body because it counteracts the light quality of the mind

5 Nutritional format  And don’t forget that food can produce a calming effect to the mind  Using foods that don’t aggravate your IC will surely not aggravate your mind as well

This is a whirlwind tour of how to calm the mind but it gives you some approaches to improving your quality of life while you make progress with your IC using other techniques that I have described earlier

If you’re interested in going deeper into this topic you can set up a free consult to see if this can be of help for you  Just go to Services/Resources

All the best           To Health as a Skill        Love DB

8 Acute and 4 Chronic Management Methods to Reduce IC Flares

bladder, bladder pain, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

 

 

 

 

The accompanying graph depicts what happens in the formation of any disease process of imbalance   There is a gradual buildup of excess qualities such as the hot quality in IC   This can occur over years of unconscious choice making that leads to at first GI tract symptoms that then eventuate in dissemination of the quality(ies) to various parts of the body

In the case of IC the dissemination of the qualities of hot, light, mobile, dry, rough, and subtle to the urinary tract leads to the early symptoms of bladder wall irritability and pain that takes you to the doctor thinking you have a UTI

As the hot quality along with others  progresses over further time the symptoms become flares that become unpredictable and ever more painful to the point of incapacitation   At this point the disease is in its full manifestation and as depicted in the left hand side of the graph these qualities are most often delivered in the foods that are eaten

Chronic Management of IC Flares

From the above you can see that if you don’t do anything with the nutrition that you have been unconsciously taking then all bets are off that you will have any success long term   So the fundamental shift in food choices is important and probably the most difficult for IC patients since the shift requires giving up comfort foods and “friends”

1  As you can see once you stop the aggravating foods that are delivering the qualities that are responsible for your symptoms the ceiling begins to be lowered and instead of the spikes off the top of the chart they begin to come down to lower horizontal lines   The ceiling for symptoms is lowered and so are the symptoms themselves

2  Next avoiding food incompatibilities that overproduce acidic loading can again reduce the chances for flares in the future

3  The third chronic thing to do is help the body eliminate the qualities from the urinary tract by using aloe vera gel on a regular basis   I have written about that earlier

4  Using CCF tea to bathe the urinary tract mucosal lining with these herbs on a regular basis helps calm and soothe the irritated bladder muscle leading to again a reduced ceiling   When you drink this CCF tea on a regular daily basis this goes a long way toward medicinally medicating the bladder

The Acute Flare Management Tips

The ground state is now established with the above chronic work but as you can see we’re not out of the woods yet because there will still be more releasing to go which will mean flares but gratefully not as severe as the ones before you began doing the chronic maintenance work as described above

1  The castor oil pack placed over the two large pelvic and bladder marma(accupuncture) points help cool off the pelvis and bladder   Adding a cooling aroma such as jasmine, sandalwood, or peppermint can be beneficial as well    Ani marma can also be effectively treated with cooling aromas    Ani is located at the inside of the elbow at its crease and massaging for a minute or two can help with pain

2  Eating foods that are cooling and trying cucumber milk or other recipes to cool off is good to do and you can try these recipes:

Coconut Milk Smoothie                                                                                   

1cup coconut milk

1cup sweet strawberries, cherries, or other berries available in season

0.5 tsp sucanat

1 Tablespoon coconut flakes

Blenderize and add water to change consistency

Cucumber Milk

Cut up a half of a cucumber and blenderize it with a cup of room temperature cow’s milk with a 0.5 teaspoon of cumin or turmeric.  Milk acts as a taxi cab to take the cooling qualities of the cucumber to the urinary tract.

Cilantro Smoothie

2cups of cilantro(this is the leafy part of the coriander plant and cooling)

1cup of kale

1cup of carrot

0.5 teaspoon of cumin

Blenderize to pleasing consistency

Add water as needed

—————

3  Sipping on freshly grated ginger that has been steeped in hot water can be cleansing to the GI tract and help bring the hot quality back to the GI tract where it can be eliminated

4 Getting plenty of rest during these energy draining times is very valuable and avoiding any exercise.

5 If you live in a hot climate such as Florida, Texas or the Southwest, it’s important to stay out of the heat   Use sunglasses as often as possible.

6  If it can be tolerated using targeted herbal therapy instillations to the bladder lining can be therapeutic as well

7  Lastly take time during an acute flare to nourish yourself   Try not to be impatient but compassionate with the body as it sheds this unwanted hot quality

8 Continue to do the maintenance work as above

All the best                  To Health as a Skill   Love DrBill

 

IC Diet Validation

bladder, bladder pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pelvic pain syndrome, chronic prostatitis, fibromyalgia, GERD, IBS, Uncategorized, vulvodynia, , ,

The reason that our website icdiet.com is listed number one and two in the Google search engine is that the information works   People use what works for them not what’s written  And I can confidently say based on the energy science of Ayurveda that it works when you work it for bladder pain

There is no guess work(why did it work for Mary but not for me), no diet diaries, no elimination trials   Just straightforward Yes and No   The IC community(Interstitial Cystitis Association and Interstitial Cystitis Network) and the AUA(American Urological Association) have come to the conclusion that diet is fundamental to the management of IC and chronic prostatitis   The energy science model has understood that for 1000’s of years   From this model’s perspective the GI tract is the source of all diseases

Although being around for just six years and building its traffic by word of mouth, the site is a testimony to the effectiveness of this energy science nutritional format

Here’s what a reader had to say about the format

“I have been looking for answers for IC for quite some time now.  I totally have followed your advice on the Pitta diet and the aloe vera and now I know I have control over my IC.  It does not control me anymore.  I am 100 percent better.  I have talked to some people on the IC Network and I feel I have been brushed off because nothing so simple could work, but it did for me. Maybe there are other therapies but for me this really did work.  I only have myself to blame for bad habits.  I gave my urologist a copy of the Pitta pacifying diet and information to read.  He told me he would give the diet to his other patients.”

This is recent comment that was posted and not a random and rare   It is one of many that I have heard over the years of urological practice when giving people this simple tool of nutrition   But there is so much more that you can do along with the nutritional format to help resolve your IC condition

Incompatible Food Combinations

One aspect of nutrition that is missed by the Western dietician approach is the concept that certain foods don’t belong with each other   Due to the rates of digestion certain foods interfere with not only the digestion but also the absorption and assimilation of foods

The reason that this is so important is that your digestive fire(agni) get affected and doused like when a wet log is placed on a roaring campfire   Digestive fire is a precious gift and if strong burns through your digestive mistakes(at a friend’s house for a dinner that has a lot of No column foods)

But There’s More

Diet is a molecular assessment of foods to be ingested   If you’re short on Vitamin D then a supplement is taken   If you want an antiinflammatory supplement use fish oil etc  And there is definite value in having this molecular information   But could it be we’re operating with an incomplete model of nutrition?  I mean where do you readily find nutritional information in the matter science nutritional literature about antidegenerative and anticongestive nutrition   Presently there are forays by matter science nutritionists about antiinflammatory diets but their recommendations are incomplete

But when you look at the energy science approach you are really practicing nutrition because the practice of nutrition takes into account regularity of bowel activity, feelings about food before and after eating(agni), the appearance of the tongue and what that means day to day   And this also means that the same approach can be effective for fibromyalgia, IBS, GERD, chronic fatigue syndrome, and vulvodynia

New Paradigm

Not only are you now becoming aware of the body as simultaneously both matter and energy fields but now seeing the value of what happens when you take on that understanding   Here the molecular information is supported and augmented by energy field model

As a direct result of seeing your body as an energy field you are gifted nutrition not just information  This nutritional approach gives you so much more than molecular information by stepping into the 21st century

It’s applied theory that can change your life and IC!

Until next week                              To Health as a Skill      Love DrBill

 

 

 

 

Procrastination and IC

bladder, bladder pain, chronic prostatitis, fibromyalgia, GERD, IBS, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, , , , ,

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“Tomorrow I’ll begin that Pitta pacifying nutritional format for this bladder pain.”

But as the saying goes,”Tomorrow never comes.”

Procrastination is a form of fear and can be related to the Kapha energy pattern but any energy pattern can entertain inertia.

It’s worthwhile looking at this fear as it directly plays into our human quest for chronic dis-ease. And if we are human and walking on this planet we have imaginary fears.

Although imaginary fears have no basis, nonetheless they are locked away in our mindbody physiologies in the form of tight muscles, ligaments and joints or parked away in organs.

Vata fears express themselves as run away or anxiety, Pitta as fight or anger and Kapha as inertia. And combinations of these control dramas is the most common of all. Can you see yourself in these dramas dealing with IC(interstitial cystitis)?

To know this about ourselves is very liberating because we can stop and innocently observe ourselves in the game of procrastination as it revolves around this concept of change in lifestyle behaviors as played out in nutrition.

We then can ask ourselves very honestly, “What am I fearful about in making whatever change I am contemplating?”

So if you want to push your buttons go to icdiet.com and see what comes up for you when you see what changes are to made for the better.  It can also help with IBS, GERD, fibromyalgia, and chronic prostatitis but maybe that’s too much to ask for.

“Oh, I don’t have time to go to there right now. Maybe tomorrow.”

See you tomorrow?                                     To health as a skill       Love DrBill

PS  Interested in geting out the well worn rut of not dealing with IC?  Talk to me about a program that can do it for you by signing up for a free consultation

7 Herbs for Targeted Intravesical Use in Interstitial Cystitis

bladder, bladder pain, CPPS, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, vulvodynia, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s estimated that 50 to as high as 70% of people experiencing IC have spontaneous resolution of bladder pain symptoms or after a period of time go away entirely or move to a more manageable symptom complex.  This is typified in the accompanying bell curve graph which shows to the left of the line those that have resolved completely or have manageable symptoms and those to the right who have repeated flares for an extended period of time.

This latter debilitated group of patients(CPPS) suffer not only unrelenting flares but lose marriages, relationships, and jobs leaving them on disability, helpless and with little positive outlook.  I believe the urologist is equally frustrated with these tormented souls as the pharma tools that they have are often inadequate for the job.  This is primarily because the origin of disease by the matter science is not understood and hence the pharma used is not targeted therapy.

Matter and Energy Science Urology:  Use of Bladder Instillation Therapy

Anyone with chronic interstitial cystitis(IC) with numerous trips to the urologist has experienced cystoscopy and catheterizations necessary to instill medicinal agents such as DMSO or medications such as heparin and steroid.   Some patients who have severe frequency and urgency are taught to by some urologists to do self administered intermittent catheterization thinking that decreasing residuals might help these lower tract irritative symptoms.

The energy science of Ayurveda has used catheterization for 1000’s of years and it is called basti.   There are many different forms of basti dependent on what locale of the body’s anatomy the healer wishes to treat.  Basti is used for various disease states from eye disorders to low back pain to constipation.

Basti helps to target the specific imbalanced organ in this case the bladder but can also be used for vulvodynia or vaginal pain which I blogged about in the past using topically administered herbs placed by hand or tampon.

Energy Science Targeted Therapy

Recently in the past 12 years there has been growing interest in the cancer literature on “targeted therapy” which has been used to describe cancer treating molecules that specifically “target” specific cancer cell processes that arrest cancer growth.  This avoids the broad chemotherapy effects that can be hard on treated patients.

I have described in previous posts that the origin of disease is understood from an energy science perspective to be an imbalance in qualities.  When herbs are used they specifically “target” the imbalance in the organs that are symptomatic, in this case the bladder or vagina.

What herbs target the bladder lining and can be used safely for topical intravesical use?  Let’s list them.

Aloe vera gel   This time honored herb reduces the hot of  inflammation and so is excellent when the Pitta energy pattern is causing the burning in the pelvic cavity as well as on urination or vaginal burning.

Cumin Coriander Fennel   These three herbs are medicinal to the urinary tract since all are cooling to the bladder mucosa.  Taken orally as a tea or making a decoction to deliver other herbs to the bladder mucosa can be therapeutically effective.

Goksura(aka Caltrops)   This herb is an antiinflammatory and targets the urinary tract and can be effective in reducing stone formation hence suggesting that it is important in GAG layer function.  It is also a nervine and shows the broad effects that happen to be characteristic of herbs in general.  It is one of the roots in dashamula below.

Guduchi  This is a commonly used herb for high Pitta conditions because it’s a rejuvenative for Pitta but has the unique quality of heating hence useful in toxic conditions which is often the case when there is longstanding IC.

Dashamula   This is a combination of 1o roots all with specific properties hence the name which means 10 roots.  Whenever there is Pitta in the tissue the tissue there is Vata as well and this herb is helpful in clearing the Vata energy pattern from the bladder wall.

Shatavari   This herb is tissue building and great for high Pitta conditions.  As I have said earlier it should not be used if there is a condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Neem   This is a commonly used antiinflammatory and great for high Vata conditions and debility.

Applications of Energy Science Targeted Therapies

If you know how to self cath then this type of therapy under guidance as to which herbs to use is fairly easy.

If you can’t cath then accessing your friendly urologist to help with the instillation of the tea can be done.  The instillation schedule varies according to the clearance of symptoms but usually would be daily for at least 8 days while doing other therapies.

I have found basti as targeted therapy to be immensely rewarding for chronic IC over the years.  Try it, you’ll like it!

To Health as a Skill         DB

7 Guidelines to Reduce Inflammatory Lifestyle Behavior Patterns

bladder, bladder pain, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

From an energy science view the symptoms of interstitial cystitis(IC) are related to the hot quality among others   The burning on urination that feels like razor blades, the suprapubic or vaginal pain, the perineal pain of prostatitis are all related to this energetic quality that is in excess

At this blog I have discussed extensively how the nutritional format is fundamental in clearing symptoms   From my research 91% of patients doing aloe and a nutritional format that reduces this hot quality get 50% relief of symptoms in 6 weeks

But what else can you do from an energy science view to reduce symptoms?  This is one of many unique contributions of Ayurveda in helping us not only understand disease but also how to ameliorate symptoms

The Lifestyle of Over the Top and Inflammation

Let’s feel ourselves next to the stove and feeling the hot quality from the stove top   The hot quality is intense and you can’t stand it for very long without having to pull away  What would it look like if you live an intense lifestyle, that is, the energy pattern of Pitta is in excess and has localized somewhere in your body, let’s say the bladder?   You would be focused, driven and have a tendency for overworking, overeating, overexercising, and overachieving   And have a painful bladder that flares every so often or the bladder is always painful

There is no rest for the weary when Pitta is in excess   And this also becomes stressful for the body maintaining the symptoms of IC

Now for some this driven lifestyle doesn’t fit    Your Pitta excess as seen in the hot quality may have come in other legitimate ways such as types of foods eaten but one thing I can say is that if you have IC with burning on urination then the you have found some way to accumulate this quality

It is now known that DNA is very malleable and changes with our choice making   Inflammation is a phenomenon of DNA and so you can change inflammation and hence your IC by changing your behavior patterns that produce inflammation

Some Observations About Over

A friend once said to me, “The work will always be there tomorrow”   So avoiding burning the midnight oils for deadlines is an important step in helping control overwork   But this business of overworking is at times difficult in the corporate world   Setting times for bed is helpful:  Vata needs the most rest so in bed by 10p and up 630-7a; Pitta 1030p and up 6a; Kapha in bed by 11p and up 5 to 530a   If you don’t know your energy pattern you can do a questionnaire here

There is a  tendency for Pitta to overeat due to hot quality and what it does to the appetite   If you don’t eat your biggest meal of the day at noon you risk having an appetite that can get out of control due to the hot quality

Exercising in the hot midday sun is very provoking to Pitta   Not only are you not taking advantage of the metabolic fire ready to digest your foods but you’re overheating the body in the hottest part of the day

Finally you’re familiar with the hot mental patterns of behavior such as anger, hostility, judgement, criticism, and impatience   Interestingly if you do the nutritional work and pay attention to the behavioral guidelines these mental patterns will subside   That is, if you find yourself being critical and judgmental it will lessen with time

7 Guidelines To Curb the OVER and Resultant Inflammation

1  Get proper rest as noted above according to the time schedules  It’s common for the Pitta energy pattern to demand too much of the Vata pattern which is delicate like a flower and needs rest

2 Eat the biggest meal between 11a and 2p and make this a important part of the day for yourself

3  Exercise in the early cool morning hours

4 Wear sunglasses on sunny days as this reduces the hot quality to the Pitta sensitive eyes

5  If you find yourself overheating in your environment, stop and figure out how to cool off

6  A  harried lifestyle of Vata with the above makes the hot quality worse since the movement fans the intensity and heat of Pitta so slowing down by doing contemplative practices such as yoga for exercise or meditation can be helpful

7   Use the evening to wind down but try reducing the alcohol because this provokes the hot quality

In summary it’s not just one thing that you do that will bring your IC symptoms under control but it’s building on top of things  It’s a cumulative effect that pays dividends in reducing symptoms over time   The key is to be aware of the things that can provoke the hot quality to lifestyle behavior choices

Until next time               To Health as a Skill       Love DB

3 Ways to Reduce the Inflammation of IC and Endometriosis

bladder, bladder pain, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

If you have bladder IC and endometriosis you are experiencing a sort of double whammy   You have two painful inflammatory pelvic conditions to deal with   And that’s a bummer   The pain may be doubly intense or at least seem like it   And the social, physical, psychological, and emotional debility is energy draining

But what if you could do something that doesn’t cost you anything and could reduce your symptoms by as much as 50%?   All you have to do is take on the responsibility of nutritional choices and use aloe vera gel among many other natural ways to reduce inflammation

So is there a relationships between these two inflammatory conditions?  The short answer to the question is that it depends   From your doctor’s matter science view the answer is NO   From an energy science view the answer is definitely YES   This makes the decision easy because you don’t have any choices with the former take

Matter Science Take on Endometriosis

From a mechanical molecular science view endometriosis is an inflammatory condition involving the peritoneum where endometrial implants occur in the pelvis leading to recurrent pelvic pain typically around menses

Due to its cyclical nature of symptoms it’s thought that there is somehow a correlation between IC and endometriosis  But the organ origin of theses inflammatory conditons are different and therefore there is no association between the two diseases

As a matter of fact endometriosis may be far more overdiagnosed for pelvic pain than is a reality  Definite biopsy confirmation of apparent lesions has to be part of the evaluation

And what can be done for inflammation?  The matter science says there are some obvious ones such as stop smoking, some not so obvious such as obesity and its role in inflammation, and then advice that is incorrect such as eating seafood by some for omega 3   If you want to get omega 3 get it from freshwater fish

The Inflammatory Pathway

The energy science says that the majority of diseases have an element of inflammation in them and this fits what people are talking about on the streets

If you’re waiting for the definitive answer from the molecular research as to decide what to do you’re in for a long wait and by then it won’t make any difference to you

As a retort to the antiinflammatroy craze, John Swartzberg, M.D., Chair, Editorial Board at the Berkley Wellness Newsletter (2008) says “Whether inflammation actually causes chronic diseases or merely accompanies them is unknown. Some scientists and hundreds of marketers are way too eager to translate theories into “news you can use.” Believe me, there isn’t any news here. Eat sensibly, get regular exercise, watch your weight, drink alcohol moderately, if at all, and don’t smoke. It’s a long road from a theory to a fact.”

Although others in the research world aren’t as dismissive as Dr Swartzberg, the matter science discussion around inflammation eventually revolves around obesity   And from an energy science view obesity is an inflammatory issue

But what if you have IC and endometriosis and you’re not fat???   Then what?

3 Things You Can Do Right Now About IC and Endometriosis?

The matter science answer to antiinflammatory lifestyle ends with  diet(correct only from a molecular point of view)  This advice from a energy science view is at times faulty due to the model from which it is derived   But what about all the other issues that produce inflammation lifestyle wise?

What about overexercise, overeating, overworking?   Do those count in matter science realm?  And what about incompatible food combinations, and other energy science nutritional advice absent from matter science workers?

But you can right now take the responsibility to make changes you make on a daily basis to take on responsibility for your health   This isn’t for everyone   Some will stay stuck in their old habits because it’s scary to change and who’s to guarantee that making the changes will help you?

1  Do the Pitta pacifying nutritional format for 6 weeks

2  Avoid incompatible food combining for 6 weeks

3  Use aloe vera gel 2T 3x per day

The key is to stick with it and convince yourself!!   Good luck         To Health as a Skill  Love Dr Bill

5 Guidelines About Yogurt and IC

bladder, bladder pain, fibromyalgia, GERD, IBS, IC, Interstiial cystitis, , , , , , , ,

From our last post you learned that from an energy science point of view interstitial cystitis is a Pitta provoked disease, that is, too much hot quality in the urinary tract – an imbalance created by the foods consumed   So the obvious first step is to reduce those foods that are Pitta provoking 

One particular thread that I have seen come up is the question about IC and yogurt   How should it be used and whether it is safe in IC, that is, whether it is Pitta provoking and causing bladder pain

Yogurt is an amazing food and many ethinic cultures on the planet use fresh yogurt and kefir as health promoting foods in their nutrition   And there are very good reasons for doing so but due to the Pitta aggravating nature of yogurt, freshly made is the only way to go

The “Good” Guys

The value of yogurt is that it serves when freshly made a rich source of probiotic which is a population of “good bacteria” that reside in the bowel  “Bad” bacteria at times overgrow the gut flora leading to poor digestion, absorption, and assimilation so it’s important that the good flora flourishes and the bad are kept in check   As I’ve alluded to in the past, bacterial growth is a major part of our digestive strength that needs to be nourished

This is particularly important if you have GERD, IBS, and fibromyalgia associated with IC since the digestive fire is significantly compromised in these dual conditions

Regular use of freshly made yogurt insures that the “good” bacteria are consistently replenished

You may have heard of yeast overgrowth and this is yet another factor that can lead to poor digestive fire(eliminating yeast laden bread products is a good idea in that it gives us more  than we need so flatbreads are best or at least toasting yeasted products)

Bowel flora is important in the concept of digestive fire and aids in bowel digestive function as well as providing important nutrients for our nutrition

Pasteurized yogurts should be avoided as pasteurization kills off the beneficial probiotic component of yogurt

Making Digestion Easy By Predigestion-Optimizing Digestive Strength

The value of yogurt comes in the predigestion of lactose and casein which we talked about a couple of days ago  Hence the bacteria during the incubation phase of creating yogurt use the sugar lactose and break down the protein casein  The lactose then doesn’t bother the lactose intolerant and the casomorphin derivative from casein digestion can be less, hence affecting us less

Why freshly made?  From an energy science view the build up of acidity occurs with aging yogurt even if refrigerated becomes inflammatory and thus Pitta provoking   You also get the maximal amount of probiotic in the yogurt(some bacteria die off after 4-5 days)

Even though fresh yogurt is not very acidic(sour taste) it still can be Pitta provoking if used daily   Hence home made yogurt has its consumption limitations

So Some Guidelines

1 Based on the foodsheal.com food combining list, don’t use fruit with yogurt

2 To really inhibit the negative sour effects of even freshly made yogurt, the use of Sucanat or Turbinado(crystallized cane sugars) can be important because the sweet taste helps balance the aggravating sour taste

3 Always use yogurt in moderation, that is, 2-3x per week

4 Store processed yogurt is too acidic and will provoke IC

5 Diluting the yogurt with water reduces its acidity

How to get started

Buy a yogurt maker(Donvier is a French brand and is in the Amazon store at the ic-solutions.tv website)   Using fresh starter each time ensures that the bacterial count of the yogurt will be rich

And yes, this does take some time to make your own yogurt but after doing it, in a short time you can do a batch in about 15 minutes(total time; heating the milk and cooling it can be done while doing other things)

If the yogurt is curdly and clearly not smooth in texture it means that there’s probably too much cooking going on and that the incubation times are too long  So try 10 hours instead of 12 hours with the Donvier

YouTube has several videos on how to make your own yogurt

It’s best not to use dry milk powder as the milk product as it is provoking to Vata Pitta

Here’s a link for directions on making your own for trouble shooting

The greatest value is making your own yogurt is that you participate in your own health and this is a small but significant step in assuming responsibility for our health

Until next week                                               To health as a Skill   Love DrBill