Fermented Foods and IC: 3 Things To Do

It’s clear that foods can heal but the converse of this statement is also true:  Foods can make us sick  But why is it that Molly can eat certain foods and you can’t?  It has to do with the qualities that increase in Molly and the qualities that increase in you AND which qualities bring about balance for Molly and which cause imbalance for you

We are all uniquely different and what brings about the painful bladder syndrome of IC(interstitial cystitis) is different for each of us  The bottom line is that once the imbalance of qualities becomes apparent you have to do something about it and the first thing to assess is what foods are causing this imbalance

Fermented Foods and Imbalance

As I have written about in previous blogs the most important quality that causes IC is hot  Along with the mobile quality these two cause the predominant symptoms of IC  So from I’ve just said it behooves us to look at those foods that carry these qualities and produce the imbalance

Anything that’s acidic carries the hot quality  It’s not the only way to get this quality but it’s a predominant one because the sour taste is the acid taste in Nature(fyi, the bitter is the alkaline taste in Nature)  So any foods that create acidity are bound to effect an imbalancing change in the body with respect to the hot quality

Foods that carry the sour, salty and pungent tastes will give us the hot quality in certain measures so should be avoided in the IC bladder pain syndrome

So you can see that fermented foods in your nutrition would be  problematic but also the foods that can be fermented when they enter the GIT(GI tract) are also an issue  When you follow the nutritional format at icdiet.com(called a Pitta pacifying diet because it reduces that hot quality) or the one at foodsheal.com you’ll automatically begin removing the hot quality from your nutrition  As I’ve written about before, homemade yogurt is alright in moderation unless you have severe symptoms(that is, NO store bought yogurt) or you have a Kapha constitution

This removes the difficulty in deciding what is safe and what is not  For example, lime doesn’t carry as much of the hot quality as its mature fruit the lemon, so lime is safe and lemon is not

Foods That Ferment Within Us

What about foods that are not fermented outside but when we bring them inside out GIT they become acidic and produce the hot quality?

A beautiful example of this process is fruit when added with other foods  Fruit by itself is innocent but when added with other foods can produce the hot quality(increasing acidity)

But there are many examples that don’t include fruits, such as beans with meat and cheese (taco, enchilada, etc), eggs with meat or cheese(that’s an omlete), and milk with fruit(the morning smoothie)

All of these incompatible food combinations are deadly traps for the IC patient because of this internal fermentation process that occurs in all of us

3 Things To Do

Here are three things to do to get appropriate guidance with this whole fermentation nutritional business

1  Eat according to the above nutritional formats at icdiet.com or foodsheal.com(be sure to take the quiz before selecting the format for yourself)

2 At foodsheal.com there is a section on incompatible food combinations

3  Do breathing exercises to reduce acidity in the body (I’ll cover these in my FREE upcoming webinar) where I’ll talk about ways that you can cool off using yoga as therapy

All the best in your healing journey  DB

Debiliatating IC and IBS: What To Do for the Mucous

The matter science discipline has made the relationship between IBS(irritable bowel syndrome) and intersitial cystitis from population studies but due to its model of healing it has little to say about the association  It exists but we don’t know why

The energy science model relates that the vast majority of disease begins in the GI tract  This is why nutrition becomes the first mainstay of therapy  Of course it depends on what kind of nutritional advice is given  Molecular nutritional advice as I talk about in IC Bladder Pain Syndrome is at best guess work based on anecdotal IC sufferers reports

But what about this link between IBS and IC?  It’s estimated that about 70% of people with IC have some signs and symptoms of IBS  From my vantage point in dealing with patients…..it’s more like approaching 100%  And this makes sense because of what I just related about the origin of almost all chronic diseases

The Relationship of IC and IBS

The symptoms of IBS are related to poor digestion  This leads to the increased qualities of hot and mobile which leave the GI tract and lodge in weak bodily areas predisposed to disease  The mobile quality leads to the frequency, urgency, getting up at night, and at times incontinence if certain characteristics of the continence mechanism are present  The hot quality leads to the intermittent burning in the bladder and vagina leading to vulvodynia like symptoms  In men the symptoms of chronic prostatitis are similar except that the perineal burning is often more severe

Approximately 60-70% of people with IC become either asymptomatic and their symptoms dramatically lessen over time with minor flares that are tolerable and dealt with by small interventions that quiet the above qualities  The remaining 30% of patients become debilitated with symptoms

More often than not this debilitated group of patients have not only IC symptoms(bladder, prostate, and vagina) but also extreme bowel symptoms as well  This leads to the diagnosis of IBS  Unfortunately there is little from the matter or molecular science discipline to deal with these symptoms as well  So this unfortunate group of patients have IC and IBS both of which are not managed well by the current medical system  Nothing to be offered

Understanding IBS and Mucous

So incapacitating IC almost always has a component of IBS that is also severe  Since all disease starts in the GI tract the management of these severe cases must hinge around dealing with the problems in the GI tract  Typically when the GI symptoms are managed the IC symptoms take care of themselves

As I talked about earlier the cause of IBS is poor digestive strength  Once this process of poor digestion is set in motion the accumulation of undigested unprocessed food leads to disruption of absorption and assimilation of food leading to toxicity

But all of these digestive disruptions lead to increased mucous production by the lining of the GI tract  Because of the hot and dry qualities in the GI tract this mucous over time becomes thick ropey and creates intermittent functional bowel obstruction, leading to bloating and pockets of gas  Another serious problem with this inspissated mucous is that it is incredibly inflammatory which produces severe cramping pain

Over years this mucous becomes a major obstacle to clearing symptoms not only in the bowel but also the bladder  And both systems create symptoms that interrelate causing a constellation of symptoms that are uninterpretable by the matter science doctors

What To Do?

If early on in symptoms using licorice or slippery elm can serve as demulcents to the problematic mucous  Until the mucous is cleared the symptoms won’t be relieved  But the healing process of bowel recovery is another hurdle that has to be managed until the gas and bloating is controlled

The important realization to the management of these difficult situations is that the process of healing from an energy science view requires time   There is no magic fix, no magic pill, no magic operation  Only patience, diligence, and the courage to do the work

All the best in your healing journey  DB

Energetic Releasing Flares or More of the Same: A Technique to Help

From an energy science perspective nothing is static   You’re either getting better or getting worse  So when a flare occurs it can signal either energy being released(good) or more imbalance of the existing energy patterns that are causing the symptoms to begin with(not so good)

How do you know the difference?  Often times you don’t but your history can give you the answer

Before EW(Energy Work)

Before you were doing energy work there are choices that don’t lend to balancing your energy body  Not knowing that coffee or carbonated drinks lead to imbalance, brings more imbalancing energy qualities of hot and mobile

Not knowing the importance of resting times, causes you to go to bed at 1am and get up at 10am not feeling fully rested  Not having a morning routine that cultivates balance leads to deteriorating balance And flares continued

Not understanding the importance of the noon meal leads to more imbalance in the gut and worsening digestive fire and more ama or toxic load that is disseminated throughout the body leading to worsening digestion such as IBS and potentially to fibromyalgia  And flares worsened  More imbalance has been created

After EW

But you begin to find out the importance of certain food choices

When you landed at icdiet.com you begin to realize that there are more things that can do to bring about balance with respect to food choices  But the flares continued

Slowly these food choices begin to bring about balance in small degrees even though you are still having flares!  What gives?  Shouldn’t you be rid of these flashes once you’ve done some work?

But then you begin to see that value of doing more things around lifestyle choices around the going to bed, getting up early, having a daily exercise regime, eating your biggest meal at noon, using herbs that can reduce ama    You begin to find  that you’re not as constipated as you have been in the past

You add daily breathing exercises and yoga posture practice  and you begin noticing in the morning that your tongue is not as coated  More balance has been created

And you notice that the flares are not lasting as long  Progress is being made!!  Even more balance is created

The Subtle Nature of Energy Work

So EW is not bad this week, good next week   And better forever   The good news is that EW leads to REAL HEALING

But it takes time and making balancing choices(instead of imbalancing ones) that build on one another  But the nature of the results is subtle

That’s why keeping a journey when you’re doing this kind of work is so valuable  You begin noticing subtle things that may otherwise not have noticed in the past

That’s why the energy field is called subtle and the matter field is called gross  When you do this kind of work the results don’t see the energy shifts that are occurring

Here’s to a balancing journey  DB

The Emotional Aspects of IC and Chronic Disease

Every once in a while I like to spotlight a question that comes from the community that brings up a particular aspect of IC that has not been addressed in previous blogs  Here is such a question on emotions and discussion about the issue

Is there an emotional or suppressed emotion aspect of the disease? Have you seen psychosomatic types of patterns, would you recommend psychotherapy? Also, is there a connection between low back pain and ic, if so should i treat the energy blockage in my back to heal the ic?

An Energy Science View of the Emotional Body

A thought plus a feeling in the body is an emotion  Emotions just like food need to be properly digested  If not they lead to unprocessed material called ama  Yes, that’s right  The same material that is unprocessed due to low digestive fire that we have been talking about produced physically in the gut, is similarly processed in the mind

When emotions are repressed it can create a opening for more disruption of the mind leading to a vicious cycle where more imbalances in emotional well being can be created

Since the mind and body are one and cannot be separated(mind is body, body is mind) all dis-ease is psychosomatic, whether it’s IC, fibromyalgia, IBS, GERD, or diabetes  It’s just at times the psychological symptoms are more prominent or become more prominent   At times psychotherapy can be helpful for such conditions but should always be done in conjunction with other energy science treatment options

Mental ama is real and leads to a confused mind, poor decision making, loss of clarity, indecision, poor concentration, poor goal direction, fear, anxiety, insecurity, anger, impatience, lethargy, and depression

The treatment of mental ama begins with following nutritional guidelines for your energy makeup and herbs to improve physical and emotional digestion

Low Back Pain and IC

As you may recall one of the energy patterns that become involved in IC is Vata, the energy pattern of movement  and is prominent in symptoms due to the mobile quality   This is expressed  as frequency of urination, getting up at night, urgency to urinate, leakage of urine when trying to make it to the restroom, and self described “small bladder capacity”

Since low back pain is also a symptom of Vata imbalance it makes complete sense that low back pain and bladder symptoms go together  As a matter of fact this is not an uncommon presentation to an orthopedist or urologist but is passed over as a neurogenic cause which it is not

The treatment of Vata imbalance is quite broad but suffice it to say here that using externally applied medicated oil to the low back can be quite helpful in relieving symptoms

All the best in your journey toward wellness DB