Are All Vegetables Created Equally? Not In IC

The flare pain in IC bladder pain as we have talked about in the past is related to the hot and mobile qualities according to the energy science tradition  But as you know it’s darn difficult to find out what qualities are in foods

That’s why the food lists of various foods are suggested to give you food choice guidance

What Veggies Are Good Choices for IC?

The food list at icdiet.com is dedicated to those foods that are Pitta(energy of transformation that delivers the hot quality) aggravating  But with respect to vegetable selection

One of the first things you’ll note is that it’s either yes or no….no in betweens   Pretty black and white but the don’t favor list is important

For example, all the nightshades are problematic(tomato, eggplant, and peppers unless sweet), and corn of any type or form  Spinach, turnips and its greens, radishes, and beets including its greens   Then there are the obvious such as horseradish and hot chiles

I think the most important is the corn and tomatoes because they are so often used in our cultures

Energy Food Guidelines for More Selection

At foodsheal.com the choices are divided into 3 columns so the choices are broken down into 3 columns giving you the choice of the “in between” or moderation meaning you can use these vegetables 2-3 times per week  You’ll have to take the test under Getting Started in order to find out which 2 energy patterns are prominent before you choose your type of nutritional format   Notice that tomatoes is in the No column for all energy patterns (Some believe that if you remove the seeds from the tomato and just use the outer section of the vegetable it will be OK)

Also notice that for the Pitta Vata energy pattern combination corn and tomatoes are still problematic

Vegetables That Are Good Choices for Everyone

Regardless of which format you choose the following vegetable choices are the best for people with IC

Asparagus                                                       Cooked carrots

Green beans                                                   Cucumber

Peas                                                                   Zucchini

Cooked onions/leeks                                 Sweet potato

Okra                                                                  Rutabaga

If you want to be safe about your vegetable food choices the above would  be the best  Consult more with the foodsheal link with respect to your specific energy pattern  The above list will help you stay away from the hot and mobile qualities that produce the syptoms of IC

All the best in healing IC     DB

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Wishing you all the best of health in your journey to eliminate the

energy imbalance of interstitial cystitis from your life

And the best of holiday cheer in sharing this season with your loved ones

The Disruptive Nature of the Holidays and IC: 3 Secrets to Help

Most of us know, like it or not, that the healing of chronic interstitial cystitis(IC) bladder or pelvic  pain requires changes occur in lifestyle behavior patterns(LBP)  Those favorites that we hold dearly just don’t serve us very well and are the instigators of what got us in trouble in the first place   As I talked about in the past, nutrition heads that list of LBP’s that get us headed in the wrong direction, but how we combine foods,  how we rest(when to go to bed and when to get up), how we exercise, how much fluids we drink during the day, all play a role, believe it or not, in our progress toward dealing with our IC

So we take on these LBP’s and we’ve started our journey  And we’re doing pretty well  But then something happens to derail our firm intentions

The Holidays

The festivities with family and friends during the two weeks around Christmas, although a great break from work, can be disruptive to those firm intentions that we have set around these new LBP   If you think you’re all alone in this one, just ask some of your friends in your IC support group about this

Any disruption in regular schedule whether it be from traveling or festivities sets us back on our LBP intentions  This is why traveling is becoming so strenuous and Vata aggravating  It causes our loss of normal schedules that is stressful and eventually hard on the physiology  I know of many avoid travel like the plague and have severely tapered their schedules just for this very reason(change in routine to make it to the airport, eating out with airport food, change in time zones and biological clock times to name just a few)

But the disuption doesn’t end with travel  Change in sleep schedule, eating times, types of foods(difficult to place your order for different food combinations or the limitation of certain foods that you’re trying to avoid) are hard to control and hence the LBP resolutions that you’ve been working on are now on the back burner

3 Secrets for Holiday Disruption

One can only do what what one can do  Accept that and it will calm your Pitta frustration fi you have some

1 When you’re traveling practice try  just doing 5min of pranayama…or just do a minute(whatever you can do)….to keep yourself from feeling like you’re a failure because you haven’t done anything for a week or two  And when you arrive at your destination try to get into your sleeping and exercise routines as much as possible

2 Take a list of foods along with you that you want to avoid and then when surveying the various foods on the table you know you’re going to avoid those particular foods or combinations

3 Restoring your LBP  rhythm when you get back from the travels or festivities as soon as possible is another step to keep you from getting siderailed and beginning those old LBP that you know don’t support your healing

Best of luck having fun       Love DB

IC and Pelvic Nerve Involvement: 3 Energy Science Techniques

IC produces not only bladder pain that can be intermittent(as in flares) but also often involves the vaginal canal(vulvodynia),  pelvic floor muscles, and often the rectum   And as is common with all people with IC there is some form of bowel involvement with symptoms since from an energy science point of view the disease arises from the GI tract

Why the Pelvic Nerves?

IC is a systemic disease  Many matter science medical authorities who write about IC agree that in some way it is a systemic disease but the current matter science medical model limits their thinking in how IC can be systemic

From the energy model perspective the energy patterns of primarily Vata and Pitta leave the GI (GERD and IBS)after being provoked usually by the foods consumed that are unbalancing, by using incompatible food combinations, and having particular lifestyle behavioral patterns that provoke

These energy patterns find weak and vulnerable areas in the physiology   In the case of IC they settle in the pelvic area and bring about the symptoms of IC in the bladder but often times they can involve the vaginal and rectal organs as well  As you can see in the accompanying anatomical diagram the vagina, bladder, rectum, and uterus  are all intimately associated with one another as well as the pelvic plexus that innervates all these contiguous structures  You can also see how close everything is to the pelvic floor and why the pelvic muscles would be thought to be involved

When the pelvic nerves are involved, the muscles supplied by these nerves may go into spasm  Hence physical therapy has been prescribed for IC pain that seems localized to the pelvic floor or for what appears to be pelvic floor dysfunction

As the pelvic nerves are  part of the pelvic structures they can become involved   When this happens, even if the bladder and vagina are targeted with herbal therapy, either by instillation or taking herbs by mouth, it may not be enough as the nerves are not in the path of the instillations but peripheral to them

3 Techniques for Improving Pelvic Nerve Health

The vaginal canal can serve as an excellent delivery pathway to the pelvic nerves as they lay as a vast network overlying the bladder, vaginal and rectal sidewalls  The use of medicated oils freely applied or medicated herbal suppositories can be applied to the vaginal canal  By moving across the vaginal lining the herbs can directly be applied to this pelvic plexus of nerves where these energy patterns are lingering, unable to be released

Another energy science technique called pranayama(breathing exercies) can strengthen the pelvic muscles but at the same time can bring about clearance of abnormal accumulatons of energy that prevent the free flow of energy through the pelvic cavity  The specific breath technique is called kapalabhati which can be seen at this link  The individual demonstrating the technique is advanced but you can only start where you are  Pay attention to those who should not practice this technique

The last type of breath technique that can be helpful is bhramari or bumble bee’s breath…. here is a link for this technique

These last two breath techniques are best done at first with some guidance  They can both be done in a firm chair so that the hips are higher than the knees

When done daily over months with attention placed on the pelvic cavity during the practice, by and by, it will help with the energy disturbance present in the pelvic cavity

If you’d like to receive guidance, leave your email at drbilldean@gmail.com

To health as a skill       Dr Bill

Three Steps to Take to Understand Energy Science Healing

The chronicbladder pain from IC seeks a solution but you are told that the “dis-ease is treatable  not curable”

But what would it be like if there was a solution?  Is it possible?  We are led to believe a lie, when we give up hope  And obviously there is no quick fix or IC wouldn’t be a problem  But what would it be like to have your life back?  Too hard to believe?  Well read on

The experience amongst IC patients is that the diet promoted by ICA or ICN may work for some, not for others  Sometimes works for awhile then seems to not work  What gives?  Anecdotal experience at best would be the first thing that comes to mind from such diet recommendations

From an energy science perspective your energy world(and that includes your own energy body) is made up of 10 contrasting vibrational frequencies:  hot/cold, slow-dull/sharp-penetrating, heavy/light, dry/oily, smooth/rough, liquid/dense, hard/soft, static/mobile, subtle/gross, cloudy/clear  These contrasting qualities make up all of Nature and are the foundational elements addressed in healing using the energy science approach  So if there is too much hot(IC) in your physiology, you would use something cold(aloe vera)

And when you think about this, it’s Nature’s way of teaching us about how your balance is  If you’re too hot then you need cocling  If you’re too mobile, you need to slow down(static)   You and I only learn by contrast and Nature is our teacher of when things are not going right

The Quality of Hot and the Acidity of IC

The energy science views foods as qualities not molecules  This is a complete divergence from mainstream medical thinking  And it stems from how we view the human biology  If we see the mindbody as a group of molecules as well as the food we consume then are limiting ourselves  We know from E=mc2 that matter and energy are interchangeable at a constant  So what is matter is energy and what is energy is matter  We are simultaneously both a particle and a wave form  The current medical model sees only the human biology as  a matter field

And so the dietary recommendations that you follow are molecular based   So the matter science states that it’s the molecule of acid in the urine brings about the symptoms of IC  Eliminate acid provoking foods and the IC is cleared  Ah, if it were that simple!

From an energy perspective the IC pain comes from too much of the hot quality and the frequency of urination comes from too much of the mobile quality  When we eat foods that contain these qualities in abundance you get out of balance and dis-ease occurs

Three Steps to Energy Science Nutrition

The first thing to do is to find out who you are from an energy science point of view  Although not perfect this quiz will help you determine who you are from an energy science view  This is very important because for some a particular food may be balancing for some and completely imbalancing for someone else  A good example of this is the tomato  For PV completely unacceptable and for PK  ok in moderation

The second thing to do is to follow the nutritional format based on the results of the quiz  There are clear instructions as to how to do that at the site foodsheal.com

The third is to begin CCF tea(cumin coriander and fennel seeds in equal proportions together in a plastic bag) by taking a bunch and steeping it in hot water and then sipping on this tea all day  CCF is energetically medicinal to the urinary tract and you guessed it, they all are overall cooling to the urinary channel!

To Health as a Skill      Love DrBill

“Did this article touch you? Why not share it with one friend?”