VPK and Investment Strategies in Turbulent Economic Times
One of the gifts the energy science of Ayurveda is the fact that these are psychophysiologic expressions, that is, they not only describe how we are physically but also what we are like emotionally, mentally, how we deal with stress(fear), and even spiritually(not religion)
When these expressions are in balance we are healthy When not, we are unhealthy Straight forward
Mindbody Characteristics of VPK and Investing
A little review of the VPK paradigm is in order
Vata the energy expression of mindbody movement has the qualities of mobile, light, cold, dry, rough, subtle, and clear This means people with energetic expressive predominance of Vata not only love but HAVE to have movement in themselves and their environment like Air They don't tolerate lack of movement making them thrill seekers, risk takers, gamblers, and impatient when not in balance These no doubt will play a role in how we observe when invest or develop our strategies
Pitta predominant love to see change in themselves and their environment due to the qualities of hot, light, mobile, sharp, liquid. and oily like Fire People with this predominant energy expression love to see personal and monetary growth They like to acquire things so they require $ to do it When things don't go their way they become frustrated and impatient
So you can see that PV or VP type people would like fast moving investments such as equities and like the movement in the stock market There's a certain stimulating thrill to be had there in that kind of investing
Kapha predominant investors have the qualities of heavy, slow, static, cold, liquid, dense, soft, hard, gross, and cloudy These investors relate to the Earth and Water physiologic elements of themselves and their environment Due to these qualities Kapha people can be slow to react
You can take a test to find out what physiologic energy makeup you are to find out what kind of investing temperament you have
If you get a group of VP and KP investors together one may find there is some balancing in the group One part of the group desires action and the KP wants some stability
My Kapha Friend and Real Estate
I was talking with my friend the other day and he was relating to me that in these economically uncertain times he had diverted a reasonable amount of his income stream into real estate investing This made perfect sense to me as being a Kapha Pitta by energy makeup he would have gravitated his investing interest into the Earth elements His investing strategy found him wanting security with Earth investments
The same could be said for those who want security or the Earth element in their investing In turbulent economic times they might seek out Tbills, cash accounts, money under the mattress(all not good) or the use of gold or silver bullion(really good) as suggested by Turk and Dines The precious metals investing would be a Kapha like investment vehicle offering stabilty They also might be attracted to the gold and sliver mining stocks due to the Earth element expressed
Turbulent Economic Times Ahead
Presently the Vata characteristics of our society, economy, and financial leadership have led us to serious financial problems that will not be overcome easily The transparency of the currency crisis is now exposing the past greed that is inherent in the central banking system and what imbalance is present in their so called "balance" sheets
What is necessary at this time of economic instability is to search out Kapha like assets such as my friend has done or to put yourself on a gold standard since it is not possible for the western economic establishment to do so For one's own economic survival it's important for the next four years to use Kapha like assets to breach this difficult time in which we live
Knowing Who You Are As An Investor
It should be said that there are all kinds of vehicles to make money when investing There are "many ways to skin a cat" so to speak The key what is comfortable for your mindbody makeup and what are the VPK energetics of the surrounding environment in which we live We live presently in a highly provoked Vata environment that is spinning out of control
This type of energy science approach can help you see the dangers of moving too fast in investing or having too much inertia(not investing at all or being to slow in moving out of unfavorable stock positions) in developing strategies Or not exercising safety measures and thereby taking on too much risk
When you know who you are as an investor as combinations of VP, PV, PK, or KP then you can begin to see how you might be swayed in terms of investing in particular strategies and how you deal with those vehicles once invested
The Energy Science Paradigm
Health is balance And too much investing to make money can lead to imbalance So we have to be aware of how much time we spend doing this investing thing Or we will be unhealthy
Herein also lies the power of the energy science as it helps us to know ourselves much better but more than this it gives us tools to observe ourselves in the action of investing in this particular venue Even though this blog is about energy science nutrition, as we have written about in the past nutrition from an energy science view is more than putting something in your mouth and getting some calories
Until next time Ciao To health as a Skill Love DrBill
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Health Isn’t In A Pill, It’s a Skill: 6 Ways to Get It
Health as the Absence of Disease?
The contemporary matter science medical(molecular) model that we use is crisis management In this way of thinking if we're not sick, then de facto we're healthy
Oh, oh I have some bad symptoms of dis-ease or my lab tests are out of whack Red alert Better do something And then we manage the disease with a pill or magic operation
Now it's not to say that this model of healing is not important It's extremely valuable when we are unfortunately really sick But let's be clear, it does not define health
But I don't think people consider health that way anymore even though that's the best the molecular model can give us And it can't give any better because the model isn't made for health, it's made for dealing with disease
The World Health Organization however has a different way of looking at disease To paraphrase, health is not the absence of disease
Energy Science Definition of Health
So the energy science of Ayurveda has a lot to say about the perfect state of health
Not only does it define health for us but it goes the important next step It gives us tools in order to develop that perfect state of health where disease is not possible
But it takes knowledge, awareness, and work to develop the skill of being healthy Would we not think it unusual to find that Tiger Woods doesn't practice golf That he just shows up for tournaments?!!
6 Ways to Develop the Skill of Being Healthy
Here's what we can do to practice health and become skillful at it
Eat according to your mindbody energy makeup
Exercise 4-6 times per week for 30 minutes
Use a churan to improve digestive fire
Early to bed and early to rise
Eat the biggest meal at noon
Practice Practice Practice
Like any skill we have to practice what it is that we want to achieve These steps will do it for you
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Cranberry Juice and Urinary Tract Disease: An Energy Science View
Both the matter and energy science disciplines agree on the conclusions so this informational evidence has strong, sound grounding And I'm a urologist having studied nonbacterial inflammatory changes in the urinary tract and the use of an energy science approach in these conditions
Nutritional Myths
As we have discussed earlier myths die a slow death Myths are beliefs or sets of beliefs often unproven or false that accrue around a system. The reason that they captivate us is they potentially hold the secret of health. And we all want to be healthy.
This is no more true than for myths around nutrition It's all nutritional guess work from a matter science view that is attempting to make sense of nutrition and its relationship to disease The study of food molecules is not going to tell us how the food interacts with YOUR physiology All we know is a lot about the molecules of the food The nutritional answers lie at the biologic energy level
The same holds true for Grandma's time honored cure for urinary tract infections, cranberry juice(CJ)
Urinary Tract Infections
Many times observations by us can be true true unrelated That is, we make an observation, the CJ helped me and yes I got better but there may be no causal relationship In addition more than 50% of UTI's are nonbacterial, ie, not associated with bacteria Matter(molecular) science nutritional arguments abound but the bottom line is there is no good evidence that CJ helps(as above)
What gives then? From an energy science view the symptoms are related to a nonbacterial inflammatory change in the bladder(interstital cystitis), that is a Pitta aggravated condition CJ will aggravate an already inflammatory condition from an energy science nutritional view In general PV(Pitta Vata) should not use cranberry at all and PK(Pitta Kapha) 1-2x per week The latter observation is probably why some can get better
You see, again, it's who's taking the CJ!
Urinary Tract Stones
What about renal stone formation? This again is a Pitta aggravated condition and there have been two studies, the one cited above and a second which showed actually an increase in stone formation in those taking concentrated cranberry tablets
Of course again the consumers weigh in with their observations and myths start flying about how the stones were dissolved by CJ
And this makes total sense to those who are selling or manufacturing CJ so the more the merrier! Buyer beware!
There is not much good advice from the matter science physicians about prevention but the energy science has a lot to say about prevention advocating a nutritional format that is good for one's body makeup
No Scientific Support
So for those not yet mesmerized by the myth and personal experience of CJ the fruit has some redeeming qualities in the use of Kapha imbalance but in general both from a matter and energy science views it's not the panacea that it;s cracked up to be
But nutritional myths do die hard And we so much want to believe them
Until next time Ciao To health as a Skill Love DrBill
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The Breakie King: Understanding Kapha Energy Pattern
Because one of the most pleasurable events of a weekend for me was breakfast, it prompted my wife to crown me the "Breakie King" I enjoyed it all The before meal juice, oatmeal with raisins, flapjacks with syrup, eggs over easy with bacon or ham on the side Maybe some yogurt with fruit
As all patterns of behavior I think it's worthwhile to question them particularly in light of beneficial energy science guidance
The Energy Science Paradigm: Understanding Kapha
Between 6 and 10a is a Kapha period of time The body's metabolism is heavy, slow, cold, cloudy, and static Doesn't sound like a particularly favorable time of the day for a big meal, does it?
Add another layer of understanding If one's mindbody energy makeup is Kapha then there is a double whammy that comes into play Not only is the time of day not right for a large meal but if the one consuming that meal has the same qualities of heavy, slow, cold, cloudy, and static, the food will not be digested well
Add another layer Foods(dairy, eggs, syrup, pancakes, oatmeal) that are associated with breakfast often over time can aggravate the Kapha energy pattern due to the qualities of heavy, slow, cold, cloudy, and static
Childhood Obesity
Add another layer Childhood is a Kapha period of life Strongly predisposed children(those who will be Kapha as adults) are at risk for childhood obesity
And it starts early on setting up lifestyle behavior patterns that are not conducive to good health
Understandably for growing school age children food in the morning may help with attention span and improve school behavior patterns But as parents who are setting the stage for potential problems down the line, I think it's important to follow PK nutritional guidelines as outlined at foodsheal.com
But for adults the question is whether it is such an important meal
One Universal Recommendation Does NOT Fit All
Blanket health recommendations from the matter science nutritional view is very misleading for us, the public For example this directive from an authoritative organization can lead to confusion because as we started out the consumer "feels" intuitively that breakfast shouldn't be the main meal personally but then these kind of statements are made
According to the American Dietetic Association(ADA), the breakfast is the most essential meal of the day Many have already spoken about the importance of breakfast. It acts as a fuel to the body to carry out the various tasks of the day. It is said that a healthy breakfast should provide 1/3 of the day’s total calorie intake. Still, it is the most neglected part of the day. Most of the people skip breakfast as they are in a hurry, don’t feel like eating or want to lose weight
Yikes! With such misguided matter science nutritional advice no wonder we have a rampaging problem with obesity The ADA needs help!!
The Breakie King Rethinks the Universal Recommendation
It's funny what happens over the years Knowledge begets wisdom particularly armed with energy science nutritional guidance
If it's necessary to have have breakfast make it light particularly if PK and follow the nutritional guidelines
Watch out for poor food combining
Consider not eating at all or perhaps juice only Remember baby steps
If in a rush DON'T eat Better to not eat at all since rushing effects digestive fire
Have breakfast at noon when the digestive fire is richest making the biggest meal at noon!!
Until next time Ciao To health as a Skill Love DrBill
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Easy to Make Meals Equates to Easy to Digest: A Paleo View
When we prepare foods at home for mealtime, it can take more time to make the meal based on complexity of the menu prepared Yes, usually when we take the time on the weekends to cook something exploratory in the kitchen, it'll be more complex
And the observation that I'm making today is that when the cooking becomes complex and involved there is a relationship between the complexity and ease of digestion There can as a result be more digestive challenges for us Perhaps along the lines of the Paleo diet view
Classic French Cuisine
Of the years in the kitchen and the evolution of my foray into different cuisines of the world, my observation seems to hold here
The natrue of the cleanups related to, say the complexities of classic French cooking, required much more time, effort and steps in order to craft the end product than other menus prepared Dishes, pots and pans, skillets to bring together the ingredients led to more complex dishes to digest because the ingredients themselves were often heavy, cold, smooth, oily, cloudy, and dense qualities all leading to a challenge for the digestive system based on the energy science nutritional system of Ayurveda A Kapha aggravating like meal
And my observation is not limited to the French but actually any haute cuisine In every culture there seems to be this relationship between the length of time of production to the digestive challenge that lies ahead for each of us
The Simpler the Nutrition the Easier to Digest
It almost makes intuitive sense, doesn't it? I mean it's pretty simple to eat an apple But digesting an apple is a lot easier than a fettucine alfredo
And then there's something simple and delicious like graham crackers and milk? Hmmm... milk the complete food along with some grain Perfect complete meal and great food combination and contrary to what you read easy to digest
Or kitchari? Aided by spices that are cooling digestants, it's simple to prepare and very easy to digest
Eating Healthy Implies a Return to Nutritional Simplicity
One of the common traits of human nutritional behavior is to develop complexity in almost all facets of life and that includes how we nourish ourselves
Advocates of the Paleo diet stress as the name of the diet implies that we return to the nutritional simplicity of our primordial ancestors
I would go a step further with this and say that when we simplify our nutrition we actually don't stress our digestive systems and make it easier for our systems to process our foods more effectively and efficiently
And this will bring more hamony and balance to our physiologies
Until next time Ciao To health as a Skill Love DrBill
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Calories: Is Quantity Really the Problem?
Matter science or measurement based nutrition that presently guides us regarding food choices tells us that calories is one way to assess how to decide whether our diet is satisfactory And even the government helps us with stats that show us consuming on average 570 calories per day more than what we did in the 1970's
Of course other meausurements such as number of grams of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats become relevant in matter science nutrition
What About Nutritional Habits?
In a study presented recently at the American Diabetes Association meeting New Zealander Dr Jeremy Krebs presented some insights about overweight diabetics and the ability to gain weight loss
There were two points that came from the study Reports Krebs, "The first is that no matter what diet we prescribe, people find it extremely difficult to sustain the changes from their habitual diet over a long time. But if they are able to follow either a high-protein diet or a high-carbohydrate diet, they can achieve modest weight loss."
So although we can discuss measurements of components in foods or overall calorie count, the bottom line is that much of the work for weight loss requires that changes in lifestyle choices If substantial change is to occur lifestyle choices around food, particularly comfort foods has to happen
The Good News
The second point "is that for people with diabetes, if they can adhere to either diet and achieve weight loss, then they do get benefits in terms of their diabetes control and cardiovascular risk,"
This of course is no surprise since it is clear that the overweight epidemic is the cause of the rising rate of diabetes and metabolic syndrome
But the question remains, "What kind of 'high protein or high carbohydrate diet' are we talking about here?"
How's Measurement Nutritional Science Working For You?
From an energy science nutritional approach the overweight condition is a Kapha imbalance
Simply putting someone on a Pitta Kapha nutritional format is a step forward in the management of the overweight condition Of course there are several other things that we can do to handle improve the health of the GI tract but the format is numero uno
The high protein diet stresses eating more meat, eggs, nuts and dairy is actually counterproductive from an energy science nutritional approach
The high carbohydrate diet stresses eating more fruits, vegetables, and grains but the issue is which fruits, vegetables, and grains Sour fruits and the almighty banana are actually provoking and cause weight gain Raw tomatoes produce weight gain while others if used all the time do the same Yeasted bread produces weight gain
So my friends, perhaps we should stop hitting our heads against the matter science wall and try something different
Ciao for now To health as a Skill Love DrBill
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