5 Ways to Promote a Nutritious Diet

OK we can all relax   The Oscars are over   Best picture actor actress director   So back to the mundane day to day travails of ordinary living and being healthy   This week it's about how to not only preserve but enhance your digestive strength and health

1  Snacking  

This may seem strange but when there is a constant flow of food for your digestive system to handle this can lead to poor digestive strength overall   This is particularly problematic for some who have low digestive power to begin with   So eating the biggest meal at noon, small breakfast to tide you over until the big meal of the day, and a dinner that is smaller than the noon meal is a great eating pattern to adopt   

2  Ice is not Nice

That is ice is not kind to our GI tracts and reduces our digestive strength since the digestive enzyme systems that digest our foods work best at 98.6 degrees F  Not 94 or 100 but at this particular set point   Using ice affects this set point and alters digestion   When you use ice with eating on a regular basis you can affect your digestion

3  Drinking Too Much Water

Some people have too much fluid already whereas others use water a lot for their metabolic needs  We are all different and so we should respect that    From previous blogs you can see what I mean   But the point is that too much fluid decreases out digestive strength   And none of us need that   Vata gets the most water per day 70 oz, Pitta 50-60 oz, and Kapha 40 oz  Guess who has the most water on board most of the time!

4  Leftover Food

My mother was the Leftover Queen and there was always in the refrigerator things from days gone by   But energetically leftovers more than a 48hours old are dead and have lost much of their nourishing capability much like the stuff that comes from cans 

5 Overeating

When I overeat(more than what I can hold in my two hands) unfortunately it's like I'm throwing wet logs on my digestion strength and then I don't burn the foods I take in 

So that's it   These are great guidelines that will nourish our digestive systems and improve our health in the long run

Until next week            Love DB

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12 Nutritional Antiinflammtory Foods

Antiinflammatory foods are becoming recognized by the Western dietary community and is a first step in seeing foods as medicines  

This list is not complete by any means but gives you an idea how the kitchen becomes your health laboratory and when you  begin to become consciously aware of the foods you are choosing to consume

We’ve chosen ten ingredients we like that cool the Pitta energy pattern.

1. Coconut

There are so many ways to use coconut and so many coconut products to enjoy – coconut water, coconut non-dairy milk and the traditional coconut flakes. Be aware that the oil, while it is certainly cooling, is not recommended for Vata and Kapha.

2. Cilantro

Use as a garnish, stir chopped cilantro into a soup or toss with your salad greens.

3. Mint

Mint makes an amazing tea, loved by many. Toss fresh mint into your salad, on fruit or dessert.

4. Fennel

Fennel is wonderfully aromatic with its anise or licorice scent. Saute the seeds in oil to add to your favorite soups or stews. Add the powder to your chai or favorite hot beverage, or sprinkle onto your salad or dinner entree.

5. Rose Water

Add a dash to smoothies, rice puddings or a bowl of fruit. Substitute rose water for vanilla extract in recipes.

6. Pomegranate Molasses

The sugar that condenses when pomegranate juice is cooked forms pomegranate molasses and is quite heavenly. Add to salad dressings, dips and spreads, and use in marinades.

7. Sunflower Oil

This oil is traditionally used externally in Ayurveda as a cooling oil for Pitta. Enjoy sunflower oil as a substitute for vegetable oil. It is mild and light.

8. Maple Syrup

Use this cooling sweetener as you would any sugar. Would also be delicious in salad dressings and marinades.

9. Ghee

Ghee is oily essence of milk. It is beneficial for all three energy patterns (Kaphas should use in moderation). It is delicious and easy to make. Use as you would butter or oil.

10. Turmeric

Turmeric has certainly seen a lot of press the past few years for it’s amazing health benefits. And fortunately it’s not difficult to add to your diet. Rice dishes, or potato or egg salads all taste delicious with some added turmeric. And of course there is curry!

11. Cumin

Commonly used in Spanish and Mexican cuisines this spice is an excellent routine spice to use in all your cooking simply because as ginger and turmeric above it medicates the food

12.  Coriander

Cilantro gives us in seed form coriander  Used along with cumin and fennel these seeds together pack a 1-2-3 antiinflammatory punch! 

Until next week                           To Health as a Skill   Love DB

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3 Ways to Influence Your DNA Through Energy Science Work

It is becoming clear that DNA is not flexible, malleable, and infinitely changing  It is not a static group of molecules but a dynamically moving expression of ourselves   This is great news for all of us because it ushers us into a new age of health where what we have done in the past is forgiven and what we do in the future for our health counts

Herbs and Gene Expression

Herbs energetically have their effect on you due to the environmental(foods, weather, etc) qualities you choose. If someone chooses to eat hot chilies and he is already a hot angry person, he will be violent by action. And his mind will be critical, judgmental, impatient, and irritable. So does it seem that the mind and your choices dictate your actions?

The matter science research supports the well known concept of genetic plasticity in health and disease states. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, June 2008, Ornish and Venter et al showed that nutrition and lifestyle modifications impacted DNA expression in men with prostate cancer. 500 genes associated with repression of inflammation were found to turn on after 3 months through a process called methylation

So How Do Foods Influence You?

Foods have their impact by the qualities they give you. The qualities are the energetic messengers delivering messages to your DNA. For example, the herb or food aloe vera imparts the cold quality to counter the hot quality to inflammatory diseases

This is of course an oversimplification but it gives you the idea of how qualities energetically interact with DNA and as a result have far ranging physiologic effects  The rule is that foods and their counterparts herbs have both specific targeted organ responses and also are used for their medicinal effects in other areas of the mindbody that do not seem to have any relationship at all to the targeted effect   But these effects are mediated at the energy level through qualities or primordial vibrational frequencies

3 Ways to Influence Your DNA


1 Herbs carry mind and alter DNA expression. This is the new paradigm. Unlike molecular crystalline pharmaceuticals herbs have specific qualities to influence DNA and in the long term have the ability to shape lifestyle behaviors.
2 As you have heard before nutrition and its qualities are heard by your DNA and over time they have the capability to alter lifestyle behavior patterns.
3 Physical exercise can change DNA expression.

Until next time               To Health as a Skill          Dr Bill
 

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9 Herbs That Aid in Healing Inflammation

There are many herbs that can be adjunctive in healing IC but they should be used in the context of who is the person using them. By now you now know that each of us are unique expressions of VPK and this can change the use of a herb suggested. And even though IC is the common disease label being treated, the person has unique imbalances that may dictate the use of one herb over another.
Having said that there is a uniqueness to the prescribing of herbs that are commonly used herbs in IC. I have heard people talk about allergy to certain herbs and while I don’t discount those experiences, I would say that allergies are very uncommon. Often times the “allergy” is a result of other products being taken and not the herb in question but this must be sorted out an individual basis.
Aloe vera(Kumari, Aloe barbadensis) This herb is an excellent choice for inflammatory conditions of all kinds and can be used by all mixes of VPK. As mentioned earlier certain herbs can be rejuvenative and aloe is one of them. This enhances its tonifying quality to tissues. It specifically balances the hot quality due to its cold quality.
Aloe can be used with pomegranate juice which augments its anti-inflammatory characteristic. Diarrhea can occur if too much is dosed and reducing the dose after the diarrhea has subsided will be usually sufficient. Dosing is 1 T three times per day.
Aloe vera is best used as a gel due to its slow release in the GI tract such that it lavages the gut mucosa in the upper intestinal tract, ie the stomach and small intestine. The natural thickener carrageenan is used to make juice thicker hence making it a gel. At times there has been consumer concern that carrageenan could be carcinogenic or that it would irritate IC. Although it is a seafood plant which energetically would be salty and hence aggravate IC, in the amounts that it is used it is likely safe.
Ginger(Ardrakam, Zingiber officinale) Called the universal medicine ginger as a herb can be used dry or fresh. When used dry it has a hot quality and therefore would not be beneficial in IC. Since it promotes digestive fire it is a digestant in cooking in its fresh form is medicinal to GI tract function.
Ginger can be used as an appetite(indicator of digestive fire) stimulant by using a 0.25 inch disc of sliced ginger soaked in lime juice with a pinch of rock or sea salt. Again given the clinical situations there are many different combinations with other herbs in which ginger can be used.
Turmeric(Curcuma longa Haridra) This rhizome that is similar to ginger in physical appearance imparts the yellow color to the food when using it. It is an incredible spice for inflammation particularly for skin conditions. The spice is very safe to use and you can use literally grams of it at one time without deleterious side effects.
As a herb as noted above it promotes digestive fire without overheating the system which is a particularly valuable property in IC patients. Turmeric helps in the digestion of protein and strengthens and balance all metabolic functions. It helps stretch the ligaments and is therefore helpful in the practice of yoga.
Triphala is a mixture of 3 different herbs, haritaki, amalaki, and biblitaki each respectively pacifying the energy patterns of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Each herb can bring balance to function of the energy patterns in the colon, small bowel, and stomach respectively. Each is a rejuvenative until itself which makes this mixture or formula highly effective and prescribed commonly.
There are many different ways to use these herbs separately or in combination based on the clinical situation. Dosing is 0.5t steeped in hot water 30 minutes before bed.
Cumin Coriander Fennel The use of these three herbs in the management of IC underscores how cooking spices are herbs which the medicinal extension of foods themselves. All three of these herbs are medicinal to the urinary tract and because they are cooling digestants they provide the cold quality to the hot urinary tract of IC patients.
Each seed is placed in equal amounts in a Ziploc bag and from that 1T of the mixture is used for one cup of water to make a tea. A larger volume can be made and placing in a thermos to sip on all day is a nice way to lavage the urinary tract mucosa throughout the day.
Castor oil(Ricinus communis) This herb is interesting in that its application externally is cooling and when used internally it is hot. The energy science takes advantage of this by using external packs in the pelvic region for relief of symptoms. Of course the internal effect of castor is increasing bowel motility due to the hot quality leading to diarrhea, making it an effective laxative.
Chamomile(Anthemis nobilis) Like the CCF mixture above, chamomile as a tea is a Pitta pacifying beverage and has been used successfully for staving off IC symptoms. It is balancing to the emotions making particularly effective for PV patients who are having trouble coping with the waves of flare. It has an effect of sedating nerve pain.
A little fresh ginger prepared with it makes chamomile a completely balanced beverage and counters any emetic effect it might have. Externally it can be used as a poultice for nerve pains. For most medicinal purposes its action is mild and serves as a harmonizing adjunct.
Have a great week                  To Health as a Skill       Love DrBill

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