Tag Archives: GERD

Acid Indigestion and IC: 3 Ways to Manage

bladder, bladder pain, chronic pelvic pain syndrome, fibromyalgia, GERD, IBS, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, vulvodynia, ,

TomatoYou would do anything to deal with the pain of IC especially when flares occur so it would stand to reason that using an antacid of some form would be appropriate since for some it gives them relief of their heartburn but has also been anecdotally reported by some to help with their IC symptoms  But interestingly disease labels such as IBS, fibromyalgia, and even vulvodynia share the problems of too much heat in the physiology

Interestingly acid indigestion(heartburn) and GERD are strongly associated with IC  In an online survey done by the ICA:

559 respondents to the diet survey 

84% found diet helped reduced symptoms

59% used Prelief (OTC antacid)             ICA Update  April/May 2004  p 15-16

Perhaps because this was an online survey the results are not available for search at the ICA site any longer but the survey obviously underscores the importance of nutrition and shows the interesting correlation with acid indigestion and IC   From our previous blog discussion this correlation would be expected as the hot quality in the gut moves to affect the urinary system

Some foods to avoid 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

From an energy science point of view the tastes that carry the hot quality are sour, salty, and pungent  It’s often difficult to know which foods carry the subtle tastes that can affect the GI tract so that’s why nutritional formats are so important

 

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

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

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

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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IC Trigger Foods and Matter Science Dietary Advice

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

 One caveat: diet in IC is a very individual thing. When I read the list of foods that were deemed to be safe for IC, my reaction to the inclusion of some of them was “I WISH I could eat that!”              IC patient

The matter science dietary approach to IC is to determine personal trigger foods   This approach is hit and miss and makes it difficult to be sure what foods carry  the offending “molecules”  In the end it becomes virtual guesswork except for the obvious choices such as white chicken(good) or coffee(bad) for everyone   Confusion reigns

Matter Science Diet Approach

The elimination diet has been used for decades to help determine possible food allergies and has been used with mixed success for the IC community   Proponents push their “style ” of molecular hearsay and those who use it ponder what they’re doing wrong since they still have flares   In the end this molecular approach like all of the Western dietary strokes are anecdotal at best   When the approach doesn’t work the proponent of the diet responds “Oh you must be allergic!”

The difficulty with this approach is twofold   First a flare may occur for you but it is problematic to find which food was the offending agent    This leads to a  second problem which is the danger of walking yourself into a “dietary corner”    Literally food choices begin to be sectored away from the mainstream of choices such that nothing is safe anymore particularly when the flares are extremely painful

Other problems with this approach are the need for excessive diet diary entries and the possibility of interpreting foods that produce “an allergic reaction” when it is actually related to poor digestion(see the recent videos)  This applies to other sister related disorders such as GERD, IBS, chronic prostatitis, and fibromyalgia

 Ah! Removal of Dietary Guesswork

As I have written in previous blogs the food choices using an energy science nutritional approach removes food diaries and is elegant in its simplicity   Just follow the list at icdiet.com and you’re done!  Or if you want a more refined approach with more choices you can take the test at foodsheal.com and use the appropriate nutritional format for you mindbody energy makeup

The reason that this energy science approach works is because it is based on a philosophy and observations about the conscious workings of Nature Herself not on errant molecular observations, mythology, and guesswork.  When you ingest foods you are ingesting Nature’s universal qualities that make up you which creates balance or imbalance of those qualities   The imbalance causes all diseases and in your case IC

Because of this the energy makeup of the individual dictates food choices   If you have the inflammatory hot quality in excess then taking in more of that quality produces an imbalance and potentially a flare   This is a salient observation that sets apart the matter and energy science approaches to disease

Nutrition Versus Diet

But the energy science approach goes even farther   It takes “diet” to a new science of understanding   Whether you know it or not, you are looking for a nutritional approach to foods   Something that will bring sanity to a confused discipline   “I eat healthy” is a common refrain but virtually has no meaning   The individual defines healthy food choices which are based worn out belief systems that are often physiologically incorrect   So nutrition is a steady guide to override the mind and its food confusion

A nutritional system goes beyond diet because it takes into account appetite or digestive fire(metabolism), incompatible food combinations, bowel activity or the lack thereof, and the psychological effects of food(more about that later)  Nutrition is more than a bunch of molecules you ingest

Until next week                         To Health as a Skill   Love DB