IC and Eggs: 3 Tips for Their Use

The pain of IC can be unpredictable which is distressing anxiety provoking in itself  Let alone that you have to contend with the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia)

And sometimes diet suggestions of well meaning matter science dieticians(RD) work and sometimes they don’t  Much of the current state of dietary recommendations is anecdotal even though touted as good molecular science  Diet recommendations are not as exact a science as we would like   If you feel good then the recommendations must be correct  If you’re not feeling good then that information makes the foods consumed in question

But what would it be like if you knew exactly what to eat according to your mindbody energy makeup regardless of how you felt after eating foods?  For example if you ate a piece of sweet apple pie and soon had a flare and then had ketchup and tomatoes on a burger with no flare, what gives?   The sweet apple pie shouldn’t have given a flare and the tomatoes should have  Very confusing and yet that is the state of our current dietary molecular knowledge

So to know exactly what to eat and know that it is correct for you regardless of symptoms is very valuable  Let’s see how this plays out with a particular food that is molecularly recommended as good when you’re having a flare

Eggs and IC

From an energy science point of view egg whites are an excellent choice for everyone  And you can separate the white from the yolk in prepartion or simply buy egg whites in the store

But egg yolks?  They should be used once or twice per week   Why?   If you recall acidic loading is the hallmark of all inflammatory conditions including IC  If you look at the molecular constituency of egg yolks they are loaded with fatty acids  From an energy science nutritional view any acid is inflammatory although some more than others based on other factors

Therefore eggs (white plus yolk) in moderation is the energy science recommendation  Not particularly useful for flares as the matter science dietary advice recommends  In short egg yolks have the potential of causing IC pain

What Gives?  Flare But Eating According to Recommendations

This is a simple question with a somewhat complex answer  It may be that the flare pain is related to past foods consumed two to three days ago that along with other foods produce an aggregating effect  It may be that the foods taken in were not appropriate according to your energy mindbody makeup  It may be that your digestion is not up to par(that’s a whole different topic and for another blog post)

Or it may be this represents a release   What’s a release?

If you’re doing everything nutritionally correct then the mindbody necessarily want to release excess energy patterns(in this case Pitta and Vata) to bring about balance

The bottom line  There is no guesswork with energy science medicine  It’s clear, scientific and it works to cure IC pain!

What Can You Do Right Now?  Some Useful Tips

1 Eat according on one’s constitutional makeup  Go to foodsheal.com right now and take the quiz    Then choose the appropriate nutritional format and print the pdf format off so you have it to follow  This will help show you how often you can use whole eggs

2 Egg white substitutes  If you want to use eggs more than twice per week even though they are in the moderation column then you can use egg whites

3  Read the incompatable food combination list and print off that file as well and post both on your refrigerator so you can reference them regularly  Avoid milk with eggs, fruit with eggs, meat with eggs, cheese and beans with eggs

IC and Yogurt: 7 Ways to Optimize Digestion

From an energy science point of view the IC bladder pain syndrome( interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia)  is a Vata and Pitta provoked disease, that is, too much hot and mobile qualities in the urinary tract – an imbalance created by the foods consumed   So the obvious first step is to reduce those foods that are Pitta and Vata provoking  When first getting started to get some relief from the burning sensation you can begin with just a Pitta pacifying nutritional format as at icdiet.com but as you progress using a format that is appropriate for you energy constitutional makeup can be found at foodsheal.com after taking the test

One particular thread that I have seen come up is the question about IC and yogurt   How should it be used and whether it is safe in IC, that is, whether it is Vata and Pitta provoking, causing bladder pain

Yogurt is an amazing food and many ethinic cultures on the planet use fresh yogurt and kefir as health promoting foods in their nutrition   And there are very good reasons for doing so but due to the Pitta aggravating nature of yogurt, freshly made is the only way to go in moderation

Helping Restore Imbalanced Agni

The value of yogurt is that it serves when freshly made a rich source of probiotic which is a population of “good bacteria” that reside in the bowel  “Bad” bacteria at times overgrow the gut flora leading to poor digestion, absorption, and assimilation so it’s important that the good flora flourishes and the bad are kept in check   As I’ve alluded to in the past, bacterial growth is a major part of our digestive strength that needs to be nourished

This is particularly important if you have GERD, IBS, and fibromyalgia associated with IC since the digestive fire is significantly compromised in these dual conditions

Regular use of freshly made yogurt insures that the “good” bacteria are consistently replenished  Agni is always compromised in these conditions and since the bacterial flora is part of agni it’s important to supplement with probiotic foods such as yogurt  SIBO(small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) is commonly thought of as the root cause of many bowel diseases but from an energy science perspective it’s just saying that agni is disturbed

You may have heard of yeast overgrowth and this is yet another factor that can lead to poor digestive fire(eliminating yeast laden bread products is a good idea in that it gives us more  than we need so flatbreads are best or at least toasting yeasted products)  This candidal imbalance in bowel flora much like SIBO is a result of poor agni  So building up agni is one of the central therapeutic themes in the management of the IC bladder pain syndrome

Bowel flora is important in the concept of digestive fire and aids in bowel digestive function as well as providing important nutrients for our nutrition

Pasteurized yogurts should be avoided as pasteurization kills off the beneficial probiotic component of yogurt

Making Digestion Easy By Predigestion-Optimizing Digestive Strength

The value of yogurt comes in the predigestion of lactose and casein which we talked about a couple of days ago  Hence the bacteria during the incubation phase of creating yogurt use the sugar lactose and break down the protein casein  The lactose then doesn’t bother the lactose intolerant and the casomorphin derivative from casein digestion can be less, hence affecting us less

Why freshly made?  From an energy science view the build up of acidity occurs with aging yogurt even if refrigerated becomes inflammatory and thus Pitta provoking   You also get the maximal amount of probiotic in the yogurt(some bacteria die off after 4-5 days)

Even though fresh yogurt is not very acidic(sour taste) it still can be Pitta provoking if used daily   Hence home made yogurt has its consumption limitations

So Some Guidelines

1 Based on the foodsheal.com food combining list, don’t use fruit with yogurt

2 To really inhibit the negative sour effects of even freshly made yogurt, the use of Sucanat or Turbinado(crystallized cane sugars) can be important because the sweet taste helps balance the aggravating sour taste

3 Always use yogurt in moderation, that is, 2-3x per week

4 Store bought and therefore processed yogurt is too acidic and will provoke IC

5 Diluting the yogurt with water reduces its acidity

6 Keeping in the fridge after it comes from the incubation phase will help get the yogurt firmer

7  For best results use whole mil

How to get started

Buy a yogurt maker(Donvier is a French brand or other various manufacturers can be found on Amazon)   Using fresh starter each time ensures that the bacterial count of the yogurt will be rich  The small amount of starter is not enough to aggravate Pitta

And yes, it does take some time to make your own yogurt but after doing it, in a short time you can do a batch in about 15 minutes(total time; heating the milk and cooling it can be done while doing other things)

If the yogurt is curdly and clearly not smooth in texture it means that there’s probably too much cooking going on and that the incubation times are too long  So try 10 hours instead of 12 hours with the Donvier

YouTube has several videos on how to make your own yogurt

It’s best not to use dry milk powder as the milk product as it is provoking to Vata Pitta

Here’s a link for directions on making your own for trouble shooting

The greatest value is making your own yogurt is that you participate in your own health and this is a small but significant step in assuming responsibility for our health

IC and Pain Control: 5 Steps to Deal With Pain

In the energy science of Ayurveda imbalance of qualities such as hot, cold, heavy, light affect the metabolic fire called agni  When this happens the end result is a toxic morbid substance called ama  This is essence is how disease occurs in the energy model discipline

In the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia) the qualities of mobile and hot lead to early symptoms of the disease complex but as progression occurs more qualities become involved and deeper tissues become affected due to the mounting amount of ama

Clogging of Energy Channels

When energy channels become obstructed with ama then there is no free flow of energy in the mindbody  This leads to a buildup of the Vata energy pattern which is freely circulating in the channels(common channels we know from a Western perspective are the GI tract, large vessels like the aorta or vena cava, neural pathways, and the respiratory system)

Vata, when obstructed in the channels, causes pain  In Ayurveda there is no pain without Vata  So in the IC bladder pain syndrome pain is related to clogged channels from ama accumulation and the blockage of the free flow of Vata  Often this is neurologic like pain and follows what I have written about in earlier blogs about the origin of the syndrome

As you can see, keeping the channels open is essential for keeping vatagenic pain in check  It is also important for immunity, and overall health  To keep the channels open, it is important to eat fresh food with spices that help digestion so that ama is not formed  When ama (partially digested food) is formed, its sticky nature blocks the channels and aggravates vata  Also spices in your food, give a general warming effect to the whole body which helps to keep the channels open, and vata flowing

5 Ways to Prevent and Clear Pain

Staying warm  The Vata energy pattern has the qualities of cold, light mobile, dry, rough, subtle, and clear so when we don’t stay warm this can increase the Vata guna of cold and increase our pain  Think about it….if you get cold the mindbody contracts  Don’t let your feet get cold  Don’t eat cold food and drink  You might think ice cream is vata-pacifying because it’s dairy but it’s not  It is actually vata-aggravating  Anything cold you put in your system closes the channels and blocks the flow of vata   That’s why you get a headache if you eat cold things quickly

Transdermal creams can be used for pain control with reasonably good effect  One has to be consistent, persistent, and disciplined in their use but if applied properly they can be effective

Nutrition that causes pain   Large beans, bananas, winter squashes and extra heavy foods are all known in Ayurveda as visthambi, (clogging to the srotas or channels)  Avoid these items in your diet and you will find your channels are more open, and your vatagenic pain is less  Also avoid the nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant) because these toxic plants block the vibrational channels (nadis), which can subsequently cause the physical channels (srotas or channels) to shrink

Avoiding leftover foods or pre-packaged foods is important too  These foods are not easily digested by the body and result in ama right away  This promotes clogging of the channels and lessen the free flow of Vata

Daily schedules  Regular routine is Vata pacifying so daily schedules are irregular and hectic(Vata provoking) there will be a tendency to increase the Vata energy pattern

IC and the Restaurant: I Think I’ll Order Some Inflammation Today

IC and Transdermal Creams: Ways to Begin Healing IC

In the energy science disciplines of Ayurveda and traditional Oriental medicine(TOM) the use of topographical points on the skin are used for treatment of various disease states  In TOM these points are called acupuncture or acupressure points  In the energy science of Ayurveda these points are called marma points  There is some variability in terms of location and what they represent but the utility of use is undoubtedly valuable

In conventional medicine today the use of transdermal therapies has had a wide application utilized mostly as a delievery system  These pharma systems are designed to get molecules into the body that would otherwise be digested in the gastrointestinal tract(GIT) and rendered useless  A good example is that of the testosterone molecule that is digested in the GIT  Because of this no functional hormone support can be acheived by taking it orally  But with the use of the transdermal delivery system testosterone can be effectively absorbed across the skin to provide its physiologic benefits

In the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia) we can make use of marma points to deliver herbs into the mindbody for healing

Marma and Transdermal Creams

There are specific marma associated with the bladder and pelvic plexus of nerves associated with IC   From an Ayurvedic point of view the IC bladder pain syndrome is probably a neurological involvement of the pelvic plexus by imbalancing qualities that pass from the lower rectum and energetically affect the functioning of the pelvic plexus

Transdermal creams can be made so that they can take the herbs across the skin and deliver their effects to target tissues of the mindbody  The carriers are energetic vehicles move the finest of vibrational frequencies of the herbs to the respective locations in this case the pelvic plexus  The carries move through the nadis and hair follicles of the skin and attach to the synapses of nerve endings leading to distant effects

The point is that the nerves essentially carry the vibrational frequencies

Uses of Transdermal Creams

1 Pain control  There is no pain without the mobile energy pattern of Vata which is most expressed in the the nervous system  So when we use transdermal creams and affect the nervous system directly we have the chance to change pain

2 Therapy for conditions  Conditions for chronic diseases will best respond to the the use of transdermal creams because they address the chronic imbalances that occur in tissues

3  Bringing overall balance  By affecting the tissues and eliminating imbalances we have the chance to reverse disease

IC and Cause: The Origin of Disease

                                                                All Diseases Begin In the Gut

Hippocrates  460-370 BC

The traditional healing systems such as Ayurveda from India and the Traditional Oriental Medical system both saw the body as an energy field and built elaborate healing sciences around the concept that the body is an energy field.  Today we know from Einstein that this is indeed correct, that what is energy is matter and what is matter is energy, from the famous equation E=MC2.

One of the greatest gifts that the energy science of Ayurveda gives us is the understanding of how all diseases begin in the body.  Ayurveda began with this understanding 5000 years ago and the Greeks who were students of the medical disciplines of India began to realize this as well, hence leading to the above quote from Hippocrates that all diseases begin in the gut.

But this observation of the gut and disease is difficult to understand from the molecular model of the allopathic tradition.  It’s only when we see that the accumulation of imbalancing qualities that leads to deficient agni  Over time these qualities circulate and energetically affect other tissues.  In the IC bladder pain syndrome(intersititial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia) the tissues of the nervous system in advanced cases become the landing point due again to low agni that cause the advanced symptoms of IC.

So this simple observation from the energy science healing traditions can give our current matter field healing discipline valuable insight as to the propagation of disease and the interrelationship of disease and food.

And this observation is why nutrition is central to prevention of disease!  Eating foods that resonate with your own physiology on a regular basis, avoiding poor food combinations, ensuring a good digestive fire to burn slip ups, and paying attention to the interrogatories of nutrition will ensure optimal health.