Update on CCF Tea: 5 Things to Know About Reducing Inflammation

In the past we’ve discussed CCF tea(cumin coriander and fennel seeds) to bring about cooling in the urinary tract in patients with IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, GERD, and chronic prostatitis)  Each of these herbs target specifically the urinary tract and have a cooling affect  So CCF reduces the severity of IC flares due to its reduction in inflammation

But as we’ve discussed in the several blog posts agni is an important aspect of health and healing IC  As a matter of fact agni or digestive power must be addressed in any chronic disease in order to have any chance of healing

Agni or Digestive Power

Agni is all the enzyme and bacterial systems for digestion, absorption, and assimilation from the mouth to the anus  So you can see how all encompassing this system is  But there’s more  The energy science states that the central system of agni indicates the strength of all metabolic systems in the body including cellular metabolism because agni is in essence the metabolic fire of the body

The matter science talks about agni but in a way that does not make the association between the GI tract(GIT) and the rest of the body  This primary difference in the disciplines allows the energy science to state the origin of disease is known while the matter science continues to struggle to find the molecules responsible for chronic illness

But there’s more  If you have strong agni you’ll have better mental clarity  You’ll make better choices for your health and healing chronic disease  Disease is often self perpetuating due to this “brain fog”  For most people they dont realize they’re fogged until they look back and compare with where they are now and where they were back then(whatever that timeline is) and realize that now they have more clarity  This is the benefit of rejuvenative herbs  They help us with mental clarity….eing able to see things with better understanding and awareness  Sometimes it’s hard to see this because we’re in a fog and the proverbial “Whatever” occurs

Whenever energy is low then agni is low  This may or may not be associated with a change in bowel habit(diarrhea, constipation, or both)  This is the first symptom of disturbed agni and needs to be corrected

CCF and Agni

So CCF tea is not only medicinal to the urinary tract and helpful in the IC bladder pain syndrome but is also very valuable in building agni  Ahh that’s a tremendous benefit  But it gets even better….CCF tea helps improve agni without heating the system up as well  Spices(using the terms spices and herbs interchangeably because spices ARE herbs) can heat the system and provoke IC flares such as garlic, oregano, sage, rosemary, and thyme

And some of the best rejuvenatives you have for improving mental clarity are in your kitchen  How so?  Spices are agni builders which as we discussed earlier enhance the mind, reduce “brain fog”, and create better decision making

You can make CCF tea by placing equal amounts of the seeds(not the powder) in a ziploc bag, toss them around so there is an even mixture of the seeds and then add a 1T of the mixture to 6oz of boiling water for 5minutes  If you want more volume, more tablespoons and boiling water

5 Things to Do to Improve Agni

So the first item on the agenda in healing IC is to improve digestion, absorption, and assimilation of the GIT

1 CCF tea  Cumin, coriander and fennel tea is elemental to improve digestion because it stokes agni  That’s why sipping on this tea all day, everyday is helpful for clearing AMA

2 Stop putting wet logs on your digestion  When I entertain foods that don’t resonate with my energy makeup(Pitta diet at icdiet or VP diet at foodsheal) or use IFC(incompatible food combinations at foodsheal) it’s like dampening my agni which is all the enzyme systems of the GIT from the mouth to lower rectum including the bacteria which are also part of agni  And avoid difficult to digest proteins like gluten(wheat rye barley), lactose, and fats found in nuts and dairy

3 Using other agni enhancers  Fresh ginger tea with a dash of cayenne(agni tea), cardamon, vanilla, cinnamon, turmeric are all excellent agni enhancers that you can use in my cooking or beverages to enhance agni

4  Breathing techniques(pranayama)  Interestingly the yoga tradition has many different ways to physically enhance agni  These breathing techniques can change the course of IC due to the power of clearing AMA

5  Yoga postures  The digestive system is represented in the space of the abdomen and when you do postures that engage this area you literally engage agni and improve it  From a molecular point of view this cannot be understood but energetically it makes perfect sense

So there you have it  A starter sequence that can get you on your way to healing IC   Oh, BTW, if you have poor agni chances are you have undigested and unprocessed food  And because you feel OK,  doesn’t mean you don’t have toxic load