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
Read More
The Difficult Morning Wakeup: An Energy Science Fix
"Why do I keep setting the alarm if I'm not going to get up?"
That's a good question and there's some conjecture about how to deal with this Kapha period of the day
Early Morning: Qualities of Kapha Time
The time between 6a and 10a is a Kapha period and has the qualities of slow, heavy, cloudy, cold, and static Our bodies being part of Nature also experience these same qualities
Is it any wonder that we don't like getting up in the morning?
This relatively inert period of the day can be overcome by MOVEment It may take some discipline to shut off the mind that insists that the snooze button is a survival tool but in the end we need that Pitta transformational energy to help change the situation
We're Not All Created Equal
We should remember that we have varying levels sleep needs based on our dominant energy makeup and these need to be respected
While Kapha can get by with 6 hours of sleep, Vata may require 7 to 8 hours of sleep(Pitta dominant somewhere in between) based on demand so recommendations for amount of sleep should be taken into this consideration
Exercise programs can be draining on the physiology requiring especially in the beginning more rest for the body Respect the body's rest requirements as more may be needed until the body is in better shape
Trouble with excessive sleep implies poor energy particularly for VP or PV(Pitta Vata) Often times this can be addressed by paying attention over time to eating according to our body's energy makeup
Energy Science Solutions
Try to move toward getting up before the Kapha period begins, ie at or before 6a
"Early to bed, early to rise" Avoid going to bed late Lights out by 10p for Vata and 11p for Kapha It's been shown that even when lying awake we are resting But make a deal that always up at the same time By and by a new sleep cylce will be established
Get up at a prearranged time without hesitation(remember MOVE) Don't let mental jargon to lull you back to bed
Stimulate and energize the body(remember MOVE) After out of bed do a three part warm up breath with 1 arms out in front with breath in 2 arms extended out horizontal with the shoulders with another breath in 3 arms overhead with breath in 4 forceful exhalation done with a loud HA(do this in the other room if your spouse is sleeping) with the arms brought down along the sides
Make the bed if you're the last one out
Develop a morning routine 7 splashes of cold water on the face with the eyes open
Resist taking naps during the day
Healthy nutrition with a strong digestive fire will over time will begin reducing physiologic stagnant energy
Life WITHOUT the Alarm
This may sound preposteous but as we become in sync with Nature alarms will become unnecessary
It is very natural for the body to wake up on its on accord as the above process unfolds
Until next time Ciao To health as a Skill Love DrBill
Read More
“I look at food and gain weight”: A Common Refrain
Every time I lose weight, it finds me again
attribution to James Dines
Looking at food and gaining weight seems like an impossiblity
But from an energy science view such an experience is totally plausible
Nutrition: A Total Experience
The body as an energy field not only imbibes calories(a matter science measurement of foods) but also the totality of the sensory experience
So from an energy science point of view the body takes in the qualities of the experience For example, sweet, sour and salty tastes deliver the qualities that produce congestion, namely the qualities of heavy, slow/dull, cold, oily, smooth, dense, soft , gross and cloudy
These qualities are not just delivered by our tongue when we eat an ice cream cone We get these qualities from our senses of hearing, feeling, smelling And what we see!! So the common refrain "I look at food and gain weight" makes complete sense from an energy science view
At first this seems very bizarre That sensory experiences other than taste can deliver weight gain But let's examine this more closely
The Inducement
Sight in and of itself does not lead to excess calories to the physiology but it does produce the desire for particular foods Some people are very much drawn to experience the smell and taste of food Unconsciously, most of the time
Who are those people most likely affected by such sensory desire? The biologic energy pattern of Kapha and those who are Kapha dominant people since they have very robust sensory channels of smelling and tasting They love to experience these senses in abundance And because of this, Kapha as a biologic energy pattern tends to evolve abundant bodies exhibiting the overweight condition An inducement, if you will, to an experience that produces physiologic congestion
So seeing foods that bring about congesting imbalance leads to the overweight issue due to the inducement of wanting to smell and taste the foods
For example foods that lead to the congestion in Kapha dominant bodes are animal foods(eg beef, duck, lamb, pork, and seafood) as well as nuts both of which carry the sour(fatty acids) and salty tastes Dairy delivers the sweet taste which also leads to congestion
Shifting Gears: The Biologic Energy Field
You see, it's a new way of viewing the body We are taught throughout our lives that we are matter(molecular) fields that have somehow learned how to think
But there is a richer way of understanding our physiologies and that's from an energy science model That is, our bodies are simultaneously both matter and energy fields
So there is a realm of knowledge that we aren't experiencing that can help us understand that even seeing foods can lead to weight gain directly or indirectly
What would life be like without being ruled by the scales - having to get on the scales everyday to see if we've gained or not?
Until next time To health as a Skill Love DrBill
Read More
Healing Foods
Foods are healing, no doubt
I think we have heard of some Cranberry juice for urinary tract infections, tomatoes for prostate health, whole grain bread for fiber, Starbucks for a pick me up, energy drinks for pep, and fast food, quick easy, and dependable
Now some of these choices are considered healing but is that based on nutritional myths or sound science?
But let's consider the present science of nutrition
Contemporary View of Foods
From a molecular or matter science way of viewing nutrition foods are less important than the "healing molecules"that foods bring based on a present biochemical understanding of the mindbody
But as our cartoon suggests we have separated foods from molecules and by our consumer spending says that taking molecules(supplements, vitamins, etc) is more important than the foods ingested
This has catapulted the US supplemental industry expenditure in excess of $3 billion per year
What Happened To Foods?
Not only supplements but now drinks containing specfic formulae to ensure that we have adequate nutritional molecular support are working on the consumer dollar as well
While the matter science nutritional format is helpful in identifying molecules its approach is tending to sever our relationship to foods consumed
And the danger in such an approach is that we continue to eat foods that are not balancing for us and subliminally believe that the molecules will augment whatever we don't get in our nutrition
This begs the question then, "What foods are best for us?"
Using a Different Scientific Approach to Nutrition
As we have discussed in the past there is a different way of seeing ourselves and the world we live in
We can see ourselves as matter fields or energy fields As the former we use our current nutritional molecular information With the latter we see ourselves and the foods we consume in terms of qualities that support us or bring about imbalance which eventually leads to disease
To restrict ourselves to just one way of viewing the mindbody when it is both an energy and matter field is to limit our ability to understand and heal it
An Energy Science Nutritional Approach
Changing our biological model to include an energy science approach to nutrition will go a long way to helping us see the healing value of foods
My friends, real healing doesn't occur with adding more molecules!!
This approach educates us in understanding which foods are uniquely tailored to our mindbody energy makeups
It shows us that cranberries and tomatoes are often not good for us and if we do use them they should be used in moderation It tells us that coffee and energy drinks are not good for us And it shows us that fast foods can be medicinal for perhaps 20-30% of us but the rest of us could do without the ease and dependability
So are there healing foods? From an energy science view it depends on who you are
Until tomorrow To health as a Skill Love DrBill
Read More
Energy Drinks
In the current issue of JAMA(Journal of the American Medical Assn) a commentary gives the overall contemporary view of "energy drinks"
The FDA in November 2010 issued a warning that caffeine is an unsafe additive to alcoholic drinks since there have been deaths occurring with exploring youths looking for the ultimate high
But the article goes on to cite that "high"energy drinks are suspect for deteriorating health regardless of the association with alcohol or not That the potent caffeine drinks are deleterious to health And as typical the matter science evaluated these drinks in numerical fashion as to the amount of caffeine per ounce, citing health problems associated with caffeine
From an energy science view caffeine aggravates all three energy patterns of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha by increasing the mobile, light, and oily qualities Taken excessively this provocation can lead to many chronic health issues
But what about the proverbial "cup of Joe"? Same caffeine but not as much Well, what about all the caffeine in the carbonated cans these days Same deal The addiction to caffeine is a real one And the reason is that the drinks help us go even faster, if we weren't already going too fast as a society already
In a previous blog we treated energy drinks in a similar way JAMA is now doing but from an energy science approach
So what's the bottom line? Green tea is just fine, thank you!
Until tomorrow To health as a Skill Love DrBill
Read More
Dreaming and Eating Late
Hard to believe but eating late with other energy conditions being provoked can lead to bad dreams.
Impairment of the energy field's movement has repercussions as we have talked about when discussing GI tract energy. If the GI tract has a good deal of energetic stagnation we may experience nightmares.
Even eating a late dinner may cause nightmares because the heavy food in the stomach blocks the flow of electromagnetic energy. So nightmares are due to poor flow of electromagnetic energy in the nervous system.
Everyone has had a sudden shock that occurs when we hit the ulnar nerve transiting around the elbow joint known as hitting our "funny bone." This sensation is electromagnetic energy shooting down the nerve as it passes on the backside of the elbow joint.
Those readers involved in yoga posture practice may recognize the subtle streaming of electromagnetic energy occurring during periods of your practice. Or the tingling sensation noted in mindbody, getting in touch with the biological energy field.
The anatomical nervous system of the matter field science is the space in anatomy where electromagnetic energy is most concentrated. This form of energy is one of five energies that run the human biological energy field and is most often observed due to its characteristic of movement as discussed above.
To healthy dreaming by eating early in the evening. Love DrBill
Read More
