Tag Archives: ghee

IC and the Art of Energy Cooking: 4 Healing Approaches

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

gheeAs we have discussed in the managment of the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia) nutrition is foundational to having success longterm  But in the energy science of Ayurveda nutrition is more than just what foods are selected for your unique mindbody energy constitutional makeup  Even though foods are integral to success because they bring about balance to the physiology and prevent imbalances from occurring there is more to nutrition than foods  Where to eat, when to eat, how to eat, why we eat all add to the “what to eat”

As we discussed we have talked about always making a deal with ourselves to sit whenever we eat  This simply allows us to improve the chances of agni doing a good job in digesting whatever we’re eating  Eating our biggest meal of the day at noon is foundational to successful nutrition  Why we eat uncovers that aspect of nutrition about emotional eating as well as overeating

But what about “how to eat”? This covers the aspects of bringing attention to eating of food but also how we prepare foods

The Uniqueness of Energy Science Cooking

One of the objections that I have heard about the energy science approach to nutrition is that you have to be Indian in order to do an Ayurvedic nutritional format  While this is complete and utter nonsense people buy into such false writing because they don’t know any better  And they believe the people that are protecting the matter science approach to nutrition by misrepresenting the energy science

FH Widget 220px1 Truth be told the nutritional formats that are at foodsheal.com can be integrated into anybody’s way of eating because the change in foods chosen means that you simply find substitutes for foods that are aggravating for folks with the IC bladder pain syndrome  If there are problem foods such as nightshades for Pitta Vata then find vegetable substitutes  Another example of this substitution is using sunflower instead of peanut butter

2  One of the basic tenets of energy science nutrition is to cook food in order to predigest  There is a lot of rhetoric about this from the raw food or macrobiotic community but it makes intuitive sense to break down the cellulose of vegetables in order to aid the agni of the mindbody particularly if it’s struggling  Another time that raw food comes up is in blenderized veggie drinks  In this situation the mechanical breakdown of the veggies may predigest but again the lack of heat applied may make this food preparation technique substandard

3 The use of ghee in cooking cannot be overemphasized in the management of the IC bladder pain syndrome because often the Pitta energy pattern is involved and the best way to pacify Pitta is by the liberal use of ghee due to its liquid and oily qualities   But there is good matter science data as to why one would want to use ghee which enhances agni  It is completely made up of small chain hydrogenated fatty acids(most common butyric acid) which does not have to be digested and moves through all the tissues within twenty four hours  This has important ramifications in the detoxification process of panchakarma(PK)

4 Spices have volatile organic compounds(VOC) which when activated facilitates digestion, absorption, and assimilation of foods  Spices are integral to healthy cooking because they augment agni  They are best activated during food preparation by placing them in ghee and heating to activate the VOC  Once activated they can then be added to other ingredients of the recipe  If you have a heavy aroma in the kitchen when activating VOC it means that you have overheated and overcooked the spices

So there you have it  A way to prepare foods so that your mindbody can get the most out of it because you have enhanced your agni in the process of preparation

 

6 Things to Know About Dairy and IC

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

bigstock-cow-and-milk-54787247The products that are derived from milk can be  problematic  It’s based on who is taking them in when it comes to IC and the painful bladder syndrome these choices lead to inflammation  In the energy science world this is a dictum that is the premise to individualizing one’s food choices according to who is eating the food  All foods have the potential to make us sick if not chosen properly and this is particularly true with the IC bladder pain syndrome

For example when you look at the dairy selections at foodsheal.com you’ll find that the choices for dairy are quite broad for Pitta Vata(PV) but limited when comparing the foods with Pitta Kapha(PK)  There are two reasons for this  First the Kapha energy pattern(the energy of stability in the body) is easily congested with dairy due to the heavy quality and so dairy produces imbalance for Kapha people  However the energy of movement in the body(Vata)  due to its light quality is grounded by dairy

Overuse of Dairy Can Be Inflammatory

In general when foods are not digested well they leave behind poorly broken down molecules that cannot be absorbed and assimilated  These large molecules stay in the gut lumen and cause inflammation  This fact is particularly true for dairy’s large lactose and fat molecules(low fat milk or skim milk don’t solve the problem)

But the story gets worse as the years progress  The gut mucosa(lining of the GI tract) can in these cases become affected by this process such that it is not functional to other molecules like another large molecule gluten(there is a large crossover effect with gluten and lactose intolerances) and then the problme compounds itself

These innocent molecules of lactose and gluten get blamed due to our own poor digestion

What To Do?

Decide who you are energetically and eat according to your energy makeup  For example, consuming dairy twice a week is manageable if you’re a PK energy makeup; however, if you’re PV then daily dairy options are available

Digestive strength  The vast majority of people with lactose intolerance are not intolerant to the lactose molecule but rather have poor digestive strength which is the real problem  So the first thing to do in these situations is to build a strong digestion I’ve spent time in previous posts regarding this

Problems with Cheese  Although there are many cheeses available and it’s used in many different dishes, cheese due to its heavy, sticky, cold, liquid, and oily qualities is the worst food to take in when your digestion is not up to par  Soft cheeses may be used occasionally but the hard cheddar cheeses should be left alone since their acidity along with the above qualities make it doubly inflammatory

Ghee is clarified butter and is an excellent way to use dairy butter in IC  The qualities of ghee match those of digestive fire and therefore ghee helps aid digestion It’s also a great way to help the dry quality in the body particularly around constipation or early IBS

Ice Cream has the cold quality and makes this apparent good food for hot inflammation a great choice  Unfortunately the cold quality affects our digestive strength and leads to poor digestion

Yogurt  I’ve previously posted some information on yogurt  Suffice it to say that only homemade yogurt works  Store bought yogurt is too acidic and therefore inflammatory  And remember no fruit with yogurt due to the inflammatory nature of the combination

All the best in your journey     Love DB